Hogwarts: New Beginnings
by KC.The.Muggle.Writer
Summary: Set 5 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Aubrey Jones' story is one of friendship, love and (of course) magic. Aubrey is a young witch; a bright Muggle-born studying magic at Hogwarts. But with the wounds of Voldemort's last battle still marked on the walls of the once again great school, Aubrey's journey to graduation will change her life and the lives of others forever.
1. Before Hogwarts

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

She had dreamt of castles, flying broomsticks and magical creatures every night since she had received her letter. That night had been no different. Waking with a sleepy smile, she felt for the thick piece of parchment on her bedside table. Written in emerald ink it said:

_Dear Miss Jones,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a booklet of school information and a list of all necessary books and equipment. A ministry official from the Muggleborn Preparation Department will visit you at your home address on 30 July to assist you with your school preparations. Term begins on 1 September._

_Yours Sincerely_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress_

She remembered seeing the yellowed envelope for the first time. It was sitting contrasted against the brilliant white of the other envelopes that also contained acceptance letters from many fancy secondary colleges around the country. She had picked it up in curiosity, not remembering applying to a school called 'Hogwarts', and broke the enchanting wax seal of a coat of arms with a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle encircling a capital 'H'. She had read the letter twice, feeling very confused, before handing it to her parents. While they read the letter, she had unfolded a large booklet that had also been stuffed into the envelope and started to flick through the pages. The more she read, the more enchanted she had become.

She had read the booklet four more times over the next weeks and hardly talked about anything else. Her parents wished for her to choose one of the other schools that had accepted her whilst trying to convince her that this 'Hogwarts' was not real, just as wizards, witches and magic were also not real. But she had decided that she would secretly believe if until the wizard from the Muggleborn Preparation Department failed to show up.

Now, at last, the 30th had arrived and she was just finishing tying up her dark auburn hair into a ponytail when the shrill bells of the doorbell rang. Sprinting out of her bedroom and down the hallway, she reached the front door just before her father. Praying that it was the person she longed for it to be, she opened the door.

Before her stood a middle aged man with grey hair and a crooked smile. He might have been any man walking the streets if it wasn't for his maroon cloak and a slightly bent, black pointed hat.

"Miss Aubrey Jones I presume?" he asked her, receiving an excited nod from her in return.

"Then may I be the first to formally congratulate you on being invited to attend Hogwarts. It is a fantastic school and one of the best learning centres for magic in the world. I was lucky enough to attend there myself when I was a boy," he said and proceeded to remove his hat. "But where are my manners? My name is Mr Splint and I am from the MPD, Muggleborn Preparation Department that is. May I come in?"

Aubrey stepped aside to let the wizard enter the house and her parents met him in the hall, looking completely startled.

"Ah and you must be Darren and Caroline Jones, Aubrey's parents. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.

But her parents simply stared at him and his hand, not saying a word. However Mr Splint didn't seem at all perturbed by this and continued to walk into the family room at the end of the hallway.

Sitting down at the dining table he retrieved what looked like a small stick and waved it at the teapot. To the amazement of the Jones family, the teapot rose from the table and continued to pour the hot tea into one of Mrs Jones' delicate tea cups. Mr Splint sipped the tea unbeknownst to the reaction his display of magic had caused: Aubrey was smiling broadly with delight while her parents had both lost the colour from their faces.

"Today I propose that we go to Diagon Alley to purchase your school supplies and set up an account for you at Gringotts. I can answer your questions on the way there," he said, looking at his watch. "Now let's get going. No time like the present I say."

He directed the family onto a local bus heading towards the city, which was not a long ride from the Jones residence. Both Caroline and Darren were very self-conscious of how they were being perceived on the bus, being in the company of such a strange man. However Aubrey asked him as many questions as she could without their conversation being heard by the other commuters.

The group soon reached the inner city and Mr Splint led the way to an abandoned looking pub. He ushered them inside before following them in. The pub was quiet and rather gloomy and perhaps for the sake of Mr and Mrs Jones' nerves, Mr Splint wasted no time in ushering them back out through another door. Standing in a small courtyard, Mr Splint approached a brick wall and tapped several bricks with his wand. Mrs Jones squealed in horror as the bricks started to shift and move to create an archway.

"Diagon Alley!" Mr Splint announced proudly.

Aubrey had never seen anything more delightful in her entire life. The alley was packed with bustling people and the buildings, bright with colour, were decorated with all sorts of weird and wonderful items.

Mr Splint led the way through the crowds of people and Aubrey was able to look into all the store fronts. Robes and cloaks were exhibited in some while others displayed books, broomsticks and many objects that she had no idea of their use. She even saw a store selling cats, toads and hundreds of owls of all shapes and sizes.

"The alley was almost destroyed about five years ago. But many of the shop owners came back, rebuilt and have been selling their wares ever since," said Mr Splint, acting the part of a tour guide. "Diagon Alley has never looked better!"

Aubrey wanted to inquire as to why it was almost destroyed but at the rate Mr Splint was directing them around, she concluded that she probably wouldn't get the chance.

Passing a funny looking joke shop displaying a giant head of a man with a top hat, Aubrey was able to get her first glimpse of Gringotts, which Mr Splint told her was the wizard bank. They waited at the door for Mr and Mrs Jones to catch up, as her parents had stumbled and shuffled nervously all the way up Diagon Alley, before entering the bank. At once Aubrey looked in disbelief at the till menders.

"They're Goblins," whispered Mr Splint. "Fork over enough gold though and they'll be pleasant enough."

He approached the head goblin at the end of the long hall with the Jones family scuttling closely behind.

"Miss Aubrey Jones would like to set up an account," Mr Splint stated to the goblin.

"Another Muggle-born come to join us then," said the goblin, sneering at her. "Wait here!" he barked before disappearing behind the counter. When he returned he dropped a small gold key into Aubrey's hands.

"How much would you like to deposit?" he asked, opening a large gold book.

"Well that depends on you, Mr and Mrs Jones," said Mr Splint, turning around to face the Muggles.

Mr Jones pulled his wallet gingerly out of his pocket and proceeded to place about 100 pounds on the counter. The goblin raised his eyebrows in such a condescending way that Mr Jones nervously handed over another 200 pound before retreating back to his place next to his pale wife.

"I'll just go and convert this," said the head goblin before disappearing again.

This time when he returned he handed Aubrey a small bag that jingled when she accepted it. Looking inside she found many thick gold coins that shone brightly. 'Wizarding money was so much prettier than normal money' she thought.

Nodding at the goblin in thanks, they left the bank. Aubrey suddenly couldn't wait to purchase her new school gear just so she could hand over her gold coins proudly.

For the rest of the day Mr Splint led Aubrey into all the different shops along Diagon Alley in which she could buy her school supplies. Her parents followed too but they didn't say a word the entire time.

In Flourish and Blotts Aubrey purchased all her school books while in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions she had her school uniform fitted. It was so different to the school uniforms she had previously worn but she decided she liked these better. Then they visited Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment where she bought a large trunk, glass phials, a telescope and a set of brass scales while at Potage's Cauldron Shop she bought a pewter cauldron.

Leaving the apothecary after buying a supply of basic potion ingredients, Aubrey spotted Eeylops Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie. A small yet handsome young owl caught her eye at once and she approached its cage. Its feathers were almost the same auburn colour of her hair and it had white circles around its large green eyes. She poked her finger into the cage and the owl nipped at it playfully.

"A fine owl you've laid your eyes on there, Aubrey," said Mr Splint coming over to stand next to her at the cage. "He would be a fine one to carry your mail. You see, his legs are nice and strong."

"My mail?" She repeated, looking surprised.

"Oh yes. In the wizarding world owls carry our mail back and forth. It's the fastest and most reliable way we communicate with other witches and wizards. This fella would definitely come in handy."

Aubrey looked up at her parents expectantly, asking them wordlessly for permission.

"No, I don't like the sound of that idea." Mr Jones said, saying the first thing since they had arrived at Diagon Alley.

"Sir, an owl will be the best way for you to communicate with your daughter while she is at Hogwarts. We don't have, now what do you call them… telephones, in our world and the way you muggles send mail is about as fast as a snail!" Mr Splint reasoned.

Mr Jones nodded uncertainly and Aubrey took that as a sign to buy the owl before her father could change his mind. Handing over her money to the cashier she decided to name her owl Austen.

Outside the shop she met her parents and Mr Splint who took the caged owl from her.

"I'm going to take your parents back to the Leaky Cauldron, that's the pub we came through," he said to Aubrey.

"I think they need a drink," he then whispered to her out of earshot of her parents. "Meet us back there once you have finished at Ollivander's and don't forget to deposit your remaining money into your account at Gringotts. You won't need most of it whilst at Hogwarts this year. " Then he whisked her parents off in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron.

Aubrey found Ollivander's Wand Shop pretty easily and entered through the heavy front door. The old man behind the counter, who she guessed was Ollivander, was already helping another girl when she walked in so she sat down to wait patiently for him to finish.

The other girl was picking up and waving every wand Mr Ollivander handed to her but he continued to snatch them back from her almost as soon as she had picked them up. The girl had short mousy coloured hair and had a little jig thing going which prevented her from standing still.

Finally the girl bought a wand and caught Aubrey's eye as she almost bounced out of the shop.

"Good luck!" she said to Aubrey before jumping out the door.

Mr Ollivander called her over to the counter and stared at her intently. His stare made her feel a little uneasy and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Suddenly the old man snapped his fingers and shuffled to the back of the shop. He returned with a long dusty green box which he opened and handed to her a wand.

"English Oak, 11 inches, reasonably supple with a Phoenix feather core," he said watching anxiously as she took the wand from him.

Almost as soon as she wrapped her fingers around the wand she felt warmth in her hand and the wand started to glow ever so slightly.

"Ah, very good!" Mr Ollivander exclaimed, his face relaxing almost immediately. "Thought I'd lost it for a second there. I've been having an ever so hard time finding the right wand for the wizard these days. Even though the wand chooses the wizard I still have to find it in this store, you see."

Questions of all sorts entered Aubrey's mind but she simply smiled and thanked Mr Ollivander, not wanting to intrude.

Finally she had all her school supplies and after quickly handing over her remaining money to a goblin in Gringotts, walked up Diagon Alley to meet her parents and Mr Splint in the Leaky Cauldron. However she didn't find her parents any more relaxed and they hadn't touched their drinks which Mr Splint called Butterbeer.

Mr Splint announced that they were done for the day, receiving relieved looks from Mr and Mrs Jones, and organised with Aubrey that he would meet them at Kings Cross Station at 10:30am in two days. Then waving goodbye from the door of the Leaky Cauldron, he let the Jones family head home.

Aubrey spent all of the next day packing her belongings into her new maroon trunk which she initialed in gold writing 'AJ'. It took her all day because at first she collected too much stuff to take and it didn't all fit. So she had to rethink and remove things one by one before she was able to finally close it.

Aubrey skipped around merrily that day, bubbling with excitement while her parents, who still hadn't recovered from their trip to Diagon Alley, stayed quiet and busy with jobs around the house. She had never seen the benches sparkle so brightly before or the hedges look so straight.

Aubrey didn't get any sleep on the night of the 31st, knowing that the next day she would be off to Hogwarts. Then the morning of the 1st of September she almost had to drag her parents to Kings Cross Station as they were not at all excited at the thought of seeing Mr Splint again, or any magical folk for that matter.

Mr Splint greeted them at the entrance to the station with his crooked smile.

"All ready?" he asked Aubrey who beamed and nodded with excitement.

Mr Splint led the Jones family to Platforms 9 and 10 and stopped at a large brick pillar. He dug Aubrey's ticket out of his pocket and handed it to her. She stared at it with a confused frown on her face.

"It says Platform Nine and Three Quarters," she stated.

"Yes and you get to it by walking right into that wall," said Mr Splint, pointing at the side of the brick pillar. "Look, watch as this wizard goes first."

A young man around the age of seventeen walked straight at the wall with his trunk and, to the Jones' amazement, completely disappeared.

Aubrey nodded nervously and started walking towards the wall. But a hand clapped onto her shoulder, holding her back.

"Your mother and I are going to go now. We, ah, have things to do," her father said, not meeting her eyes but instead looked nervously at where the man had disappeared.

Aubrey took the hint and hugged her parents, promising to write often. Then, without a backwards glance, she pushed her trolley towards the wall. She cringed, eyes closed, waiting for the impact. But it didn't come. She opened her eyes just in time to see Mr Splint arrive next to her.

A scarlet steam train was waiting at the platform which was crowded with people and marked by many signs saying 'Platform 9 ¾ '. Aubrey couldn't believe her eyes. Diagon Alley and now this; it was almost too good to be true.

"Well now all you have to do is take your trunk to the loading bay along with your owl. They will travel in one of the storage carriages. Then show your ticket as you get on the train," said Mr Splint. "I'd like to watch you go since your parents didn't come with us but I've got to get back to the Ministry. Paperwork to do, you see."

He then patted her on the back encouragingly and she thanked him profusely for his help.

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's my job after all!" Then tipping his hat he walked back through the wall.

Taking a deep breath, Aubrey made her way through the mass of parents and students saying their goodbyes and handed over her trunk and owl to two burly men packing the storage carriages. Then, slinging her satchel bag that she had packed with her uniform, wand, books and papers over one shoulder, she made her way to the nearest passenger carriage.

Climbing up onto the step of the carriage, the strap of her bag got caught on the handle of the door which threw her bag back onto the platform like a slingshot. She made a mad dash for her belongings which had been strewn all over the platform. But a few loose note pages got caught in the wind and flew up high in the air. She watched them lift higher and higher until they suddenly froze and shot back down towards the platform. They flew over her head and, spinning around, she watched as a boy with his wand outstretched caught them in his free hand. He walked over to her and handed her the notes with a smile.

"You might want to fasten your bag in the future," he said.

"Thank-you," she replied, trying to fathom how he had retrieved them from the sky.

The train conductor called that all were to get aboard and the boy waved his hand at the carriage, signalling for her to go first.

She climbed aboard the carriage and watched out the nearby window as the parents all along the platform waved at their children on the train. She suddenly wished her parents were amongst the crowd.

But when the train started to move the heavy feeling she felt inside vanished and was replaced with light anticipation. Even though she had no one to wave to she hung her head out the window and waved like a maniac.

Soon the station was out of sight and she beamed. She was going to Hogwarts!

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**CHAPTER 2 (YEAR 1) NOW AVAILABLE  
**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.  
**

**KC**


	2. Year 1

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

The Hogwarts Express had gathered a decent amount of speed before Aubrey brought her head back into the carriage. Turning around, Aubrey saw the boy who had helped her on the station was waiting for her.

"Do you want to find a compartment together?" he asked. She nodded, glad that she would have someone to talk to. They soon found an empty compartment and sat opposite each other next to the window.

"I'm Henry Wilks by the way," he said, holding his hand out to her.

She took his hand and shook it. "Aubrey Jones," she said, introducing herself.

"Are you a First Year too?" he asked and she nodded in reply.

She had noticed on the platform that he was about the same height as her and had brown hair and pale, silver eyes. His nose was slightly squared at the end and dimples formed on his cheeks when he smiled.

"I've been dreaming about going to Hogwarts ever since I was born," he said, getting the conversation going. "What house do you hope you'll be in?"

"House?" she asked.

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh, are you Muggle-born?" and, with the lack of an answer from her, he swiftly elaborated: "A person whose parents aren't magical that is. In the wizarding world we call non magic folk Muggles."

"Oh, well, yes I am then," she said shyly.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he added quickly. "In fact I think it's fascinating. I don't know any Muggle-borns you see. I'm what's called a Pure-blood wizard and my family… well, they have never really communicated with anyone else who isn't from a pure-blood family."

"Why not?" she asked, suddenly intrigued.

He cringed slightly. "I don't like to admit it but my family has a dark background. They were members of one the darkest magical groups in history when I was about six. But when their leader was destroyed, they said that they were only involved because they were hexed. I don't know if I believe them though. Have you heard of the Battle of Hogwarts yet?"

She shook her head.

"Well about twenty-five years or so ago now a dark wizard called Voldemort appeared. He was very powerful and killed anyone who stood in the way of his quest towards ultimate power. But one night when he went to kill a family by the name of Potter, he was unable to kill the baby boy, Harry Potter, and disappeared. Most people believed he had been destroyed but when Harry was about fourteen he came back and tried to pick up from where he left off with the whole 'ultimate power' thing. But at the same time as Voldemort was gaining followers, so was Harry, with the help of the famous Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore that is. It's all very complicated and I'm probably not doing a very good job of explaining it. But Dumbledore was killed by his spy and one thing lead to another and Voldemort war spread to the grounds of Hogwarts. Many died but Harry Potter destroyed Voldemort once and for all. It's now a very famous battle in our history and is being taught in school, so I guess you will learn more about it later."

Suddenly something Mr Splint had told her sprung into her mind. "Did the war spread beyond Hogwarts, like to Diagon Alley?" she asked.

"Yes. Many places were affected, including Diagon Alley, and over many years too. Pretty much the entire country could tell something was going on, Muggles and all! The Ministry was pretty worried that the Muggles would find out about us lot. Did you notice anything strange about five years ago?"

She tried to remember back to when she was six… there was something. "That was the year that winter seemed to last forever. The skies were always dark and cold."

"Yeah that would have been the dark magic in the air. Spread like pollution. I feel guilty about it even though I wasn't directly involved, only connected to those who were."

"Was your family on Voldemort's side?"

"Yes," he said, looking ashamed. "People called Voldemort's followers Death Eaters. Just the name makes me shudder. This is why I'm concerned about the sorting ceremony."

"Sorting ceremony?" she asked, probably sounding pretty clueless by now.

"When students arrive at Hogwarts they get sorted into one of four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin are their names. Dumbledore and Harry Potter were in Gryffindor while Voldemort and most death eaters were in Slytherin. All my family were in Slytherin and I'm afraid I'll be in it too. Everyone says Slytherin is the house that dark wizards come from. I really hope I'm not placed in Slytherin. I don't want to be like my family." Aubrey couldn't help but notice the determination in his voice.

Thankfully the lady with the food cart rolled past, breaking the tension in the air and they each purchased handfuls of savouries and sweets to share. Henry explained to Aubrey what most of the foods were. They had a great time laughing at each other when the other got a bad tasting bean from the packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Henry then showed her the basic spells he knew and the _Accio _spell, which was a bit more advanced, and that he had used to retrieve her papers out of the sky at the station.

"It took me a while to master because you usually learn it in Third year. But I got lazy, not wanting to walk across my room to get things," he said cheekily.

Soon a prefect came past their compartment and told them that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon. Aubrey went into the girls' lavatory to change into her uniform while Henry did the same in the boys'.

Aubrey looked at her reflection in the lavatory mirror once she was fully dressed in her uniform. She had her hair tied back in her favourite way (a high ponytail) and her dark brown eyes shone. She brushed her fingers along a small collection of freckles on her pointed nose, sighing in defeat at how the sun treated her skin.

She met Henry back in their compartment and they gathered their remaining food into their pockets, stashing it for later. The train slowly came to a stop and they jumped off the carriage and onto the platform. Aubrey could see the pointed roofs of the castle over the trees and shivered with excitement.

She and Henry went to collect their trunks and owls together (Henry had a big black owl called Dex) but were called into the group of other first year students as they would enter Hogwarts in a special way. This special way was by boat and Henry and Aubrey made sure they sat together. As they crossed the lake that stretched out next to the castle the first year students were able to get their first look of Hogwarts.

It was more that Aubrey could have ever wished for. The grey stone of the castle's walls and towers glowed in the moonlight while yellow light shone through the windows from inside the castle. The scale of the castle was overwhelming and she looked at it eagerly. Dark horseless drawn carriages crossing the battered looking bridge leading to castle caught Aubrey's eye. Guessing this was how the other students were getting into the school, she wondered how she and her fellow first years would be. But she didn't have to wait long before the boats entered a tunnel under the castle and docked at an underground harbour.

She and Henry clambered out of their boat and entered the castle. They climbed a tall flight of stairs with the other First Years and arrived in the large Entrance Hall. At once Aubrey noticed the patchwork like quality of the stone walls. Some patches were of old grey stone that looked burnt and chipped while others were made of flawlessly light stone. The floor too was either uneven or incredibly smooth like ice.

"The castle really did take a battering," whispered Henry in wonderment. "At least they were able to save most of it."

Aubrey pictured the battle in her head and she shivered. Now that she could see the wounds it had made on the castle, she could only imagine the wounds it had left on those involved and the families others left behind.

A very short man with a shock of white hair (who introduced himself as Professor Flitwick) met the First Years at the top of the stairs and told them the sorting ceremony would be starting soon. Then, forming two lines, the First Years entered the Great Hall.

The ceiling was the first thing that caught Aubrey's attention as it looked exactly like the night sky. The floating candles highlighted the large windows and walls which mirrored the patchwork like quality of the Entrance Hall's walls. But it was the four long tables stretching the length of the hall and completely occupied by smiling students that made her feel especially excited.

The First Years made their way to the far end of the hall and gathered in front of a podium which had an elderly witch in an emerald green cloak and matching hat standing behind it.

"Welcome First Year students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said. "I am Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. First, before you start your school year, you will be sorted into one of the four school houses. They are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Your will be called in alphabetical order of your last names. When your name is called you will come to the front and the sorting hat will be placed on your head," she said, gesturing towards another professor who was holding a worn brown hat. "Now let us begin…"

She then commenced to read out each of the first year students' names and, one by one, they approached the hat nervously. The hat shouted the name of one of the houses as it was placed, in turn, on each of the students' heads. Then, once the student had been placed, they joined their house's table to the cheers of their other house members.

"Nell Green!" called Professor McGonagall.

Aubrey recognised the girl called as the one whom she had met briefly in Ollivander's Wand Shop. Nell skipped nervously up to the hat and a split second later it placed her in Gryffindor house. Aubrey watched as Nell's smile spread from ear to ear and then, with her green eyes sparkling, bounced off to join the cheering Gryffindor table.

"Aubrey Jones!"

Aubrey gulped and felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter madly. She approached the hat and felt its weight as the professor placed it on her head.

"Well, well, well" she heard a whisper in her head "Another little Muggle-born. The ones without any knowledge of magic are always tricky. But your qualities speak for themselves…"

"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat to the rest of the hall.

The Gryffindor table cheered once more and on her way to the table she met Henry's eye. She nodded at him in encouragement, hoping for both his sake and her own that her new friend was also placed in Gryffindor. But they had to wait until the very end as his name was the last on the list.

"Henry Wilks!"

The hat was placed on his head and the hall waited. But the hat didn't shout anything for a long time. In fact people around her started murmuring about how long it was taking and she started worrying for her friend. Then finally the hat shouted out its decision.

"Slytherin!"

Aubrey's heart shot down to her stomach and she watched as her friend shuffled toward the Slytherin table, whose occupants were clapping loudly. Henry looked like he was going to cry. She watched as he slumped down at the table and she tried to catch his eye. But he stared glumly at the floor.

"I wish all out new First Years the best of luck while at Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "May you strive to be the best students you can be. In fact, and I direct this to all students, I expect every one of you to study hard and follow the school rules. In turn, I am sure we will see many of you graduate from Hogwarts as great witches and wizards. Now, let the feast begin!"

With a flourish of her hand food of all sorts appeared on the gold platters in front of them. The sudden presence of food made Aubrey realise just how hungry she was and helped herself to a large plate of mash potato.

"I remember you from Ollivander's," said Nell who was sitting next to her. "I'm Nell."

"I'm Aubrey," she said before sticking a large fork full of turkey into her mouth.

"I'm half and half," said Nell, who was eager to make conversation.

"I'm Muggle-born," Aubrey returned.

They continued this way throughout the rest of dinner, trading information about themselves and their families back and forth. Nell was very bubbly and even though she was a small girl, she had a large personality. Aubrey liked the thought of having her as a friend.

At the end of the feast Professor McGonagall asked for each house to leave one after the other with Gryffindor leaving first, followed by Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and lastly Slytherin. As she stood to follow the Gryffindor prefect out of the hall, Aubrey glanced over to where Henry was sitting. He had hardly eaten a thing off his plate and was pushing the food around with his fork. She wished she could quickly go over to talk to him. But as it was she already had to run to catch up with the other Gryffindor First Years as they left the hall.

Walking into the Gryffindor common room after climbing a dozen or so moving staircases, Aubrey was delighted at the sight of fire lit room. Gryffindor decorations covered the curved walls and comfortable looking chairs were placed at random throughout the room.

The prefect led the first years up the spiral staircase to their dormitories (one for girls and one for boys) and left them to get settled in. Aubrey and Nell claimed the two four-poster beds closest to the window while the other two girls took the beds on the opposite wall.

While the other three girls started to unpack their belongings from their trunks, Aubrey couldn't help but let her mind wander back to her miserable friend Henry. If only she could reassure him that his time at Hogwarts would still be great even though he was in Slytherin. Then a thought sprung to her mind; 'If Slytherin were the last to leave the Great Hall, would he still be there?'

Making an excuse about needing to get something she left her dorm mates to their unpacking and raced down the stairwell into the common room. However the Gryffindor prefect was sitting next to the fire and frowned at her when he saw her.

"Where do you think you're going? No students are allowed out of the common room at night. School Rules," he said, getting up to stand in front of her.

"My bracelet from my parents, I think it broke and fell off my wrist in the Great Hall," she lied. "I just want to go find it."

"I'll go…" he started to say but she interrupted.

"I remember where I was sitting so it would be a lot quicker if just went down there myself," she said, hoping he would see through her lie.

"Fine, but go quickly. I could lose my badge for letting you go," he conceded and she ran out of the room before he could change his mind.

She sprinted down the staircases in the Picture Hall and reached the corridor leading away from the Great Hall just as Henry walked slowly out into it. He was near the back of the Slytherin group so she called out his name, careful not to attract the attention of the other Slytherins. He turned around, looking surprised to see her there, and approached her quickly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Aren't all the Gryffindor students already in their dormitories?"

"Yes," she said, trying to get her breath back, "but I wanted to make sure you are all right. I know it wasn't the decision you were hoping for."

"You wanted to make sure I was alright?" he said, surprised at her comment.

"Well, we're friends aren't we?

"You still want to be my friend even though I'm in Slytherin? But Gryffindor and Slytherin are enemies."

She smiled. "Just because Gryffindor and Slytherin are enemies doesn't mean that we can't be friends."

A smile of relief flooded his face. "I think I'm going to like having you as a friend, Aubrey."

"And I you, Henry," she replied with a grin. "See you tomorrow!"

When she finally returned to the common room, relieving the prefect from his worry, she didn't hesitate to jump up the stairs to her dormitory two at a time. Nell was the only one still awake in her dormitory when she entered and her friend gave her a relieved smile.

"I was wondering where you were!" Nell exclaimed as loudly as possible without waking the other girls. "In fact where were you?"

"Just reassuring a friend," Aubrey whispered in reply.

Nell shrugged and settled down under the covers of her bed, obviously not wishing to know any more.

When Aubrey too finally climbed into her bed she could already hear the rhythmic breathing of the other three girls in the room. But Aubrey did not feel at all tired, in fact, she felt exhilarated. She couldn't wait to spend another day at Hogwarts.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3 (YEAR 2) NOW AVAILABLE**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.  
**

**KC**


	3. Year 2

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

Aubrey couldn't believe it was exactly a year ago today that she had entered the Gryffindor common room for the first time. Now here she was, about to start her Second Year at Hogwarts, and she already felt immediately at home.

"Aubrey!" she heard a shrill voice squeal. She looked up to see her best friend racing down the staircase from the dormitories.

Nell jumped at Aubrey, pulling her into a tight hug and Aubrey laughed. They hadn't sat near each other during the Start of Year Feast and weren't able to locate one another on the train - so to others this scene was highly unusual for such a time but, for the two girls, it was the perfect reunion.

She and Nell had become fast friends during their first year at Hogwarts. Nell, Aubrey discovered, was a lover of mischief and the most boisterous girl she had ever met. But Nell had the sweetest heart and Aubrey always looked to her for a laugh. However Henry was the friend she always looked to for advice and who she shared all her thoughts and feelings with. He could be fun as well as serious and they always found comfort in the others company. While Nell could be overwhelming at times, Henry cemented Aubrey. All in all, she couldn't have wished for more wonderful friends.

"It's been ages since we've talked! You will have to tell me all about your summer," bubbled Nell as she slipped her arm around Aubrey's.

"We sent letters to each other every week, Nell," said Aubrey, already exasperated. "I swear Mum and Dad were going to go completely crazy if Austen swooped into our family room with another one of your letters!"

"But it's not the same as talking in person!" cried Nell as they reached the top of stairs and entered their dormitory. "So what did you do?" she asked, flopping on Aubrey's bed.

"Nothing much more than what I've already told you in our letters," Aubrey said whilst starting to unpack her trunk. "Otherwise just helping Mum and Dad around the house and sending letters to you and Henry."

Nell screwed up her nose. "How is the Slytherin then?"

"I wish you wouldn't call him that," sighed Aubrey. "He is my friend after all."

"I have no idea why," said Nell, starting to unpack her own trunk.

While Nell and Henry were both her best friends, they were not friends with each other. Aubrey had tried to introduce them but they just hadn't clicked like she had done with them. She didn't want to think it so, but Aubrey suspected that Nell didn't like Henry because he was in Slytherin house. So then Henry didn't like Nell because she didn't like him for being a Slytherin. Aubrey had become tired of trying to get them all to spend time together so she had decided to let things be.

* * *

The first weeks started off smoothly for Aubrey with her favourite subjects (Transfiguration, Charms and Potions) in the afternoons which balanced out her other subjects in morning.

In most of her classes she shared a desk with Nell but in Potions (which Gryffindor had a joint class with Slytherin) she shared one with Henry. However she began to notice that her friend was not his usual self and often lost his concentration during class, making his potions boil over and flow onto the floor. Finding him in the library after a disastrous potions class in which his potion exploded along with his cauldron, she decided to confront him about it.

As she made her way over to where he was sitting, she watched as he screwed up the parchment which he had been working on and threw it towards the bin, not bothering to levitate it over to the bin like they usually did for fun.

She sat down opposite him at the table and identified the frustration and unhappiness on his face. Giving him a questioning look, she didn't have to say anything before he expressed his concerns.

"I'm sick of school!" he grumbled. "I hate being here."

"But it's Hogwarts!" she exclaimed. "You said so yourself when we first met that you have been dreaming of coming here since you were born."

"Yes, I know!" he snapped. "But not to a Hogwarts where I am placed in Slytherin."

She softened at once. He had struggled with the Sorting Hat's decision for most of their first year and often questioned himself because of it.

"I thought you were feeling better about it though. On the train here this year you seemed happy to be coming back."

"That's because I thought it would be different this year," he sighed, slumping miserably in his seat. "I was sure that I would be accepted now that we weren't all gangly first years. But everyone in Slytherin is still just as cold towards me and everyone else in the school won't interact with me because I am a Slytherin."

He sighed sadly. "I don't fit in anywhere. No one likes me."

"I like you," she pointed out to him.

"Well you're the only one. Perhaps I should just accept the fact that I was put in Slytherin because I am a dark wizard from a dark family of Death Eaters."

"No you should not!" she said, slamming her fist on the table. "You're better than that Henry, better than them, and I tell you that as you're best friend. We are always truthful with each other and I am not about to lie to you now."

"So come on," she said standing up from the table. "We are going to see Professor McGonagall and have you moved to Gryffindor house!"

"They won't allow it," said Henry, running to catch up with her as she headed towards the Headmistresses office. "No one changes houses once they have been sorted."

"Well it doesn't hurt to ask," she rebutted, marching down the corridor.

They had just reached the long corridor leading to the Headmistresses office when they saw the large gargoyle statue at the end of the hall allowing their Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, to enter the corridor after coming down the staircase it was guarding. Professor Flitwick spotted the students at once.

"What are you two doing up here?" he squeaked, trying to appear as large and dominant as he possibly could. However this was difficult for him as he barely reached their shoulders.

"We would like to speak with Professor McGonagall," Aubrey said, looking down at her teacher.

"The Headmistress is very busy at the moment so should not be disturbed. Only matters of urgency will bring her away from her desk today. Now I must ask you to leave this corridor at once," and with a wave of his hands, he ushered them back to the Entrance Hall.

"Now what?" Henry asked her, his face looking bleak.

"We will speak to her, Henry. I promise you," she said determinedly. "But I'll need some help," she added, deep in thought, as she watched Nell skip by them. A plan was forming in her mind…

"Meet me back in the corridor tonight at the end of dinner," she told Henry. "If all goes well we will speak to her tonight."

"All goes well? What are you talking about? Aubrey?" Henry called after her. But she had already left the hall and was running towards the Gryffindor common room.

Aubrey found Nell in their dormitory, who had just finished changing out of her uniform for dinner, and she approached her quickly.

"I need your help," she told Nell and her friend nodded eagerly for her to continue. "Can you cause a distraction at the end of dinner tonight, something that will call for the Headmistress to be summoned?"

"Oh, mischief! Nell said, clapping her hands in delight. "Can I ask why you need one?"

"Do you mind if I don't answer?" she asked, suspecting a bad reaction from her friend.

"It's to help that Slytherin isn't it?" Nell said, frowning.

"Just think of it that you're helping me," Aubrey appealed.

Nell thought for a second before nodding and Aubrey hugged her in thanks.

"Oh and don't get caught!" Aubrey quickly added before her friend left the dormitory.

"That will never happen!" Nell grinned cheekily before disappearing down the stairs.

* * *

Just as Aubrey suspected, Professor McGonagall was absent from dinner, which, for some strange reason, caused a more relaxed atmosphere in the Great Hall.

Aubrey wolfed down her dinner and before she left the hall she looked over to where Nell was sitting near the end of the table. Her friend gave her a thumbs up, signalling that she was prepared and Aubrey hoped that her friend would not be receiving a detention for doing her this favour. Then she hurriedly left the hall, trying not to be noticed too much.

Once she was out of sight of the Great Hall she jogged down the hallways to reach the corridor leading to the Headmistresses office. Henry was already there waiting for her and looking very nervous.

"What's the plan Aubrey?" he asked, looking relieved to not be alone anymore.

Just then screams echoed up the hallways leading away from the Great Hall and they could hear plates and cutlery crashing on the floor. Aubrey desperately wanted to find out what Nell's scheme was but they had limited amount of time.

"Come on!" she hushed, grabbing Henry's wrist and pulled him into the shadows.

A second later, a very ruffled looking Professor Flitwick came racing down the corridor and mumbled a word to the gargoyle statue. The statue sprung into life, revealing the staircase and Professor Flitwick jumped up the stairs.

Henry began to move out of the shadows but Aubrey yanked him back by the hem of his shirt as a few seconds later both the Headmistress and Professor Flitwick were racing down the stairs and along the hallway towards the Great Hall.

"Now!" Aubrey whispered to Henry and they raced towards the gargoyle statue which was retracting back the stairs. They both jumped onto the last step just in time and scrambled up the stairs.

Entering the study, Aubrey was awestruck by the sheer size of it. The room was circular with the walls completely covered in bookshelves. A large desk sat up on a raised platform with two curved staircases leading up to a mezzanine level above that. It was truly beautiful.

"This was the plan?" demanded Henry, wanting an explanation. "You got us into her study, I'll give you that, but she's not even here to see us."

"I guess we will just wait until she returns then," said Aubrey, shrugging her shoulders.

Henry snorted. "Great plan!" he said sarcastically before starting to scan to rows of books on the bookshelves.

Aubrey too started to explore the study and her eyes rested on the hundreds of paintings of elderly men and women above the bookshelves. Most of them were fast asleep in their chairs and she only recognised a few of them from her History of Magic classes. But she was able to identify them all a previous Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore's portrait caught her eye especially and she smiled at the grey bearded wizard with crescent moon glasses, wondering what it would have been like to have him as a teacher. However it was the man in the portrait next to him that intrigued her the most. He had greasy black hair and a long hooked nose. He was considerably younger than all the other Headmasters and Headmistresses but his face was just as weathered.

Henry saw Aubrey staring at the sleeping wizard and made his way over to stand next to her.

"That's Professor Snape," he told her. "He was Dumbledore's spy amongst the Death Eaters. He was a headmaster for less than a year after Dumbledore died as he too was killed. It was greatly debated by the Ministry as to whether he should have a portrait as not many knew that he was only one of Voldemort's followers due to his working for Dumbledore as spy. But Harry Potter made his story known after the Battle of Hogwarts and insisted that a portrait be made of him and placed next to Dumbledore's."

Suddenly Henry grabbed her arm, making her jump, and he pointed towards one of the bookshelves near the desk.

"Look," he said, "the Sorting Hat."

The hat was watching them from his perch on the bookshelf and Aubrey thought if hats could smirk, it would be smirking at them right now.

"Well, well," it said, glaring at them "Why are two young second years alone in the Headmistress's office?"

Aubrey began to speak but Henry interrupted.

"Actually I was wondering if you had perhaps made a mistake and placed me in the wrong house." Henry asked the hat.

The hat sighed. "Your placement is one that haunts me quite often actually. I initially intended to place you in Gryffindor but Professor McGonagall had given me orders that if I was to come across a new student with the right qualities, I was to put them in Slytherin."

"Qualities? What 'right qualities'? Henry questioned.

"Ambition, cunning, resourcefulness and leadership, the qualities that Slytherin house value," listed a voice behind them, causing them to jump in fright. It was the voice of Professor McGonagall and they spun around to face her.

"As well as courage, bravery, intelligence and determination to work hard," she continued, taking a step towards them. "A young person who would persist and strive to reach the ultimate goal."

"And what would that 'ultimate goal' be, Professor?" Henry gulped, his voice wavering slightly due to her intimidating presence.

"Since I became Headmistress after the school was restored, I have wished for harmony amongst the houses," she said, walking behind her desk. "Slytherin house has always been viewed in a negative light and the dark days of Voldemort's power made the unrest between Slytherin and the other houses even stronger. However those days are gone and I wish Slytherin house to be viewed as the equal of the other three houses as well as being desired by new students. The Slytherin house values were lost under the pretense that the house is for dark wizards and witches and I would like those values to be recognised again."

She stared over her desk and directly at Henry. "It is all very well for me to say this to the other students but I believe the only way it will be completely understood is if it is demonstrated and proved. That is where you come in, Mr Wilks. The Sorting Hat recognised these qualities in you, as well as your blood purity which Slytherin desires, and so placed you in Slytherin house, even though it was against its wishes to do otherwise. Henry, you have to chance to help me eradicate all stereotypes against Slytherin house being the house for dark witches and wizards. If then, by removing that assumption, there may be less students becoming so, you will have protected our world from another such war that has so recently ended. Do you understand?"

"I do, Professor. I understand," said Henry quietly.

"I know this is a lot to place on the shoulders of such a young boy but I believe you can succeed."

"I will do my best, Professor," he agreed, sounding determined.

It was then that Professor McGonagall looked at Aubrey who had almost hoped she had not been noticed by the Headmistress. However she didn't say a word to her and continued to speak to Henry.

"It is a great responsibility you hold in your hands now, Mr Wilks. But don't let that blind you. Take every opportunity to enjoy yourself whilst at Hogwarts and do not disregard your friendships." Then she smiled at Aubrey. "Friendship is one of the greatest gifts you can be given."

"Now off to bed, the both of you," she said, snapping back to her commanding Headmistress's voice. "And I do not want any more surprise visits from either of you, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," they said in unison before walking towards the door.

But a thought popped into Aubrey's mind and she approached the Sorting Hat again.

"Excuse me," she said, "Was there any doubt in your mind when you placed me in Gryffindor?" she asked.

The hat chuckled. "Do you think anyone but a Gryffindor would be so curious? And this little stunt you pulled to get you and your friend in here, do you think anyone but a true Gryffindor would do that either?"

She smiled, blushing. "No I guess not," she said.

"Your courage, nerve and loyalty towards your friend prove you to be a worthy Gryffindor, my dear," it said to her softly. "So to answer your previous question, no, I didn't have any doubt."

* * *

Henry didn't hang around long after they left the Headmistress's study. He told Aubrey that he wanted to finish all of his homework that night and so, after thanking her for helping him, he strode off towards the Slytherin common room looking very confident.

Aubrey arrived back at her dormitory to find Nell sitting on her bed eating a chocolate cupcake from a small pile of them on her pillow.

"So how did it go then?" asked Nell, her mouth full of chocolate icing.

"Really well," she replied thinking back to Professor McGonagall's conversation with Henry and how determined he had looked when he left.

"But what happened with you?" Aubrey inquired. "We heard screaming and the clattering of dinnerware all the way up near the Headmistress's office."

Nell started to laugh, recalling what had happened. "Cornish Pixies," she said simply, throwing Aubrey a cupcake from her stash. "I took those two large cages of them from the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and put them underneath the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Then after you left, I opened the cages from my underneath my seat at the Gryffindor table using _Alohomora_ and then just ran around pretending to be scared when they made havoc of the hall."

Aubrey laughed. "That was brilliant, Nell!" she chuckled. "I wish I could have seen it!"

"And the best thing was," continued Nell proudly, "that when the Professors found the cages under the Slytherin table, they suspected those Slytherin tricksters from year four. Then while they were all busy catching the pixies, I was able to grab this lot," she patted her cupcake stash happily, "and bring it back here to celebrate my glorious little stunt with you! Hogwarts is wonderful, isn't it?"

"It sure is!" beamed Aubrey and took a large bite of her cupcake.

* * *

**CHAPTER 4 (YEAR 3) NOW AVAILABLE**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.  
**

**KC**


	4. Year 3

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

Ever since Aubrey had learnt about the all wizarding town of Hogsmeade, she had longed for the day in her third year that she would visit it for the first time. After years of waiting, that day had finally arrived and she was bubbling with excitement.

Hogsmeade was the only reason for students to bring money with them to Hogwarts and so before the new school year had started, she had made a special trip to Gringotts Bank so as to provide herself with some spending money. Aubrey had not been able to convince her parents to go with her and so she had asked her friend Nell to accompany her, due to her not being old enough to travel alone. Nell had arrived at her house with her wizard father a week before school started and they had travelled to Diagon Alley together. At the bank she had withdrawn a pouch full of gold, silver and bronze coins from her vault that she could spend on her collective trips and had packed it securely in her trunk.

So when the morning of their first trip to Hogsmeade arrived, she collected her coins and, with her pockets jingling merrily, she and Nell left their dorm room to join the other Third Years in the courtyard.

Leaving the warm comfort of the castle, the girls were blasted with cold air as they walked into the frosted courtyard. It was a freak snow storm that had hit the country in the last couple of days as it was usually too early in the season for it to be snowing. Therefore everyone was dressed in large coats, waterproof shoes and scarfs, beanies and mittens in the colours of their house. Most of the Third Years were shivering, due to being exposed to the weather, but not Aubrey. The adrenaline from her anticipation at visiting Hogsmeade was enough to keep her warm but she had still bundled up in her Gryffindor cold weather gear.

She looked around at the group of Third Years and finally spotted Henry, shaking from cold, near the back of the pack. She knew from the pale look of discomfort on his face that she was going to get an earful from him. It had been difficult enough to drag him away from his homework to go to Hogsmeade with her and so she knew he wouldn't be pleased at being dragged from it and into a blizzard.

After his discussion with Professor McGonagall the year before, Henry had become the most studious and high achieving student in their year level. It had even become a laughing point when people inquired as to where he was and others would reply "Where do you think? The library, of course!" In fact many of the people standing around him in the freezing courtyard had looks of surprise on their faces at the fact that he was there at all and without a book under his nose.

Aubrey pulled Nell behind her and the two girls skittered over to where Henry was standing. Both Nell and Henry looked unimpressed being in the others company but Aubrey stood in between them and looked eagerly as Professor Slughorn (the head of Slytherin House and their Potions teacher) addressed the group of students.

"In a few moments we will be leaving for Hogsmeade village. Due to this incredible phenomenon in the weather, I must urge you all to travel with a partner or group so we do not lose anyone on the way. The other professors and I will escort you to the village and back only this once and so any other time that you travel to Hogsmeade after today will be with your houses. Now as long as we are not missing anyone who wishes to go, I suggest we get going before the snow prevents our journey." Then with a shiver and a wave of his hand, he led the group across the bridge from the castle.

The large stone bridge was the only section of Hogwarts that hadn't been restored after the Battle of Hogwarts. It acted as a memorial to those who had perished in the battle and to remind everyone of the damage the battle had caused. Therefore the bridge's stone edging was chipped, cracked and even had large chunks missing from it. However it was the shiny plaques, with the names of the dead engraved on them, which stretched along the length of the bridge that really communicated the devastation of the battle. Even though it was not enforced, anyone who ever crossed the bridge would lapse into silence out of respect.

Once the Third Years had cleared the bridge, excited chatter broke out amongst the group about what they each wanted to see and buy whilst in Hogsmeade. Aubrey tried to remember every suggestion she was given. But as the information flow was so great, she knew most of it would have probably left her head by the time she reached Hogsmeade.

It wasn't long before they reached a hill's crest and the Third Years got their first sight of Hogsmeade. Steep pitched roofs covered in snow jutted out into the sky and smoke rose from almost every chimney. The buildings were made of dark brick and thatching and the road through the town was completely covered in deep snow. It was the most enchanting little town Aubrey had ever seen; like something out of a fairy tale.

Once the group had reached the town's border, the professors told the group to meet at the town's signpost at three o'clock and then, without a backwards glance, they quickly ran towards the warmth radiating out of the Hogs Head pub.

Students scattered in all directions and Aubrey had no idea what to do first. Nell was extremely eager to head towards Zonko's joke shop and so Aubrey and Henry followed her as she led the way down the street.

The brightly lit and colourful shop was packed full of students and animated chatter could be heard from all around the room. Being quite a small girl, Nell quickly disappeared amongst the crowd and Henry and Aubrey only spent a short time looking at the amusing goods for sale before they retreated outside for some fresh air. Nell appeared at the window and motioned to Aubrey that she was going to have a better look around. They mimed (probably looking ridiculous) an agreement through the window to meet at the Three Broomsticks in a few hours and then Nell disappeared out of sight again.

Henry brightened and starting suggesting places they could visit. Their first stop was Honeydukes and they bought a large collection of sweets after browsing the shop for almost an hour. Aubrey had never seen such variety! Then they both bought new quills at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and gazed admiringly at the new racing brooms in stock at Spintwitches. Aubrey was a fair flyer for one who had only flown a broom for the first time two years ago, but she didn't feel confident enough yet to brave the famous and most loved wizarding sport of Quidditch. They took a wide berth of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and Henry spent almost two hours in the bookshop, Tomes and Scrolls. Finally, once Aubrey was able to drag Henry away from the bookstore, they succumbed to the cold and headed for the warmth of the Three Broomsticks.

Nell was nowhere to be seen in the pub so Aubrey found a table whilst Henry volunteered to buy their drinks. When he returned he carried with him two large pints of Butterbeer. The last time Aubrey had seen the drink had been when Mr Splint had bought it for her parents in the Leaky Cauldron. Taking a large gulp she couldn't understand why her parents hadn't liked them as it was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted; like liquid butterscotch.

They kept to themselves and talked casually about their subjects. Now that they were in their third year at Hogwarts they were required to take up two extra subjects along with their original seven. Aubrey had played to her strengths and interests and had chosen Muggle Studies (which she of course excelled in) and Study of Ancient Runes. Henry also had played to his strengths when choosing his subjects and achieved highly in Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes due to his analytical mind.

They were deep in conversation about their Study of Ancient Runes homework when a large Fifth Year Slytherin boy approached their table with a small group of Slytherins following behind him. Aubrey immediately recognised him as one of the boys Nell had accidentally framed last year when she let a large swarm of Cornish Pixies loose in the Great Hall.

He stood over them, smirking nastily through a warped smile.

"Well if it isn't the little bookslug Wilks and his little red Gryffindor friend," he snarled almost cheerfully.

"If you want to use the name correctly it's 'bookworm', not 'bookslug'," said Aubrey evenly, looking up at the tall boy. "And my hair is 'auburn', not 'red'."

"Look here, boys. It talks!" he said mockingly, receiving sniggers from his followers.

"We have done nothing to disturb you, Denton," Henry said to the older boy through gritted teeth. "So if you would be so kind as to leave us -"

"Done nothing! You two being born is what 'disturbs' me!" interrupted Denton, this time receiving loud laughs from his friends. "Wouldn't your parents be ashamed to see you interacting with a Mudblood, Wilks?"

"I have more right to be ashamed of them!" growled Henry, scraping his chair noisily along the ground as he stood up to face Denton. He had grown taller than Aubrey over the three years she had known him but he was still considerably shorter than the older Slytherin boys that he now stood opposite.

"And how dare you call her a Mudblood!" Henry continued angrily. "Her blood line has nothing to do with the sort of witch she is!"

His voice echoed around the silent room and Aubrey noticed that everyone's heads were turned to the scene playing out in front of them. Their faces all had looks of surprise on them as they had never seen a Slytherin defend a Muggle-born, let alone a Slytherin stand up to another Slytherin.

"How courageous of you, Wilks," Denton said, glaring at Henry. "The innocence of your youth blinds you. But in the end, you will join us."

"Never," Henry glowered and Aubrey saw him reach for his wand. So, without thinking twice about it, she threw her remaining Butterbeer in Denton's face.

Both Henry and Denton were startled by this turn of events and it allowed her just enough time to grab Henry by the wrist and pull him out of the pub before Denton could regain his composure.

On their way out through the door, they almost ran over a very surprised Nell who jumped quickly out of the way. But Aubrey didn't stop to explain and dragged Henry behind her all the way to the outskirts of town. Reaching the fence line bordering off the Shrieking Shack she let go of his wrist and turned around to face him.

"I could have hexed his fat face right off his big head," grumbled Henry, rubbing his wrist.

"Exactly," said Aubrey. "I couldn't let you spoil it by cursing him."

"Spoil 'it'? Spoil what?" Henry asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Didn't you see? Everyone in the Three Broomsticks was watching you. You stood up to Denton, something no-one has ever seen done before, and you were from his own house."

"I don't understand," said Henry, frowning.

"They were admiring you!" Aubrey exclaimed. "You, a Slytherin, stood up to Denton, another Slytherin, about him calling me a 'Mudblood'. You spoke out for good and not evil, Henry, and people recognised that."

Realisation flooded Henry's face. "I didn't even think about that. I just did it because he insulted you."

"That's because it's in your nature to stand up for what's right," Aubrey said, smiling at her friend. "And that's exactly why Professor McGonagall believes you are a good ambassador for the Slytherin house values."

Henry smiled at this, looking proud.

"But wait, are you alright though? He did call you a Mudblood after all," he asked suddenly, looking concerned.

"Don't worry. I got my revenge by throwing my Butterbeer in his face," she replied, beaming.

Then they both laughed at the image of Denton covered in the sticky, golden coloured drink.

* * *

Once they had recovered from their fit of laughter they walked back into the village to meet the professors at the town's signpost. Nell was already there and she hurried over when she saw them coming.

"I'm not going to ask what happened because I've already heard it from several witnesses in the Three Broomsticks," she said and grabbed both Henry and Aubrey's hands at the same time, giving them a shake. "But I am going to congratulate you. Denton's had it coming to him for a very long time and I think it is just marvellous that it was you two who gave it to him."

"I wish I could have been there to see it but I couldn't decide what to buy from Zonkos. In the end I bought one of everything," she continued and lifted a large bag with the Zonkos labelling on it. "I'd be happy to share some it with you guys."

"Both of us?" Henry asked, looking surprised at being included.

"Yeah, you too Henry," Nell nodded enthusiastically. "Now that I know you hate Denton just as much as I do we can plot together. And you being in Slytherin means we have someone on the inside! It's going to be fantastic!"

Both Henry and Nell laughed together and Aubrey smiled, feeling glad that her friends had finally decided to coincide peacefully with one another. In fact, looking around at the rest of the Third Years, Aubrey noticed that they were all regarding Henry with interested looks rather than the cold or neutral ones that they usually wore. Things were looking up for Henry, she thought, and smiled at the prospect.

Denton and his gang came out of the Three Broomsticks at almost the exact same time that the professors came out of the Hogs Head pub, chuckling happily. Aubrey was relieved at this as without the professors being present she feared what Denton and his friends would do to her and Henry. Denton had obviously tried to clean himself up a bit but the Butterbeer had stained his jumper and his black hair was now lying flat on his head like a drowned rat. Aubrey, Henry and Nell all muffled their laughter and Denton snarled angrily at them.

"Is everyone here?" called Professor Slughorn who, like many of the professors, looked slightly merry. "Yes? Good! Well back to Hogwarts we go then!"

He turned around too quickly and slipped on the ice, almost toppling to the ground. Giggling broke out across the group of Third Years as he regained his composure. Then he commenced to lead the group back down the path towards Hogwarts.

"So did everyone have a good day?" he called to the group.

"Yes," Henry said and laughed at the sight of Denton again. "Yes, a very good day!"

* * *

**CHAPTER 5 (YEAR 4) NOW AVAILABLE  
**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.  
**

**KC**


	5. Year 4

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

Aubrey left the library sadly, holding her books to her chest. Even though they were only in their fourth year, Henry was already studying for his O.W.L.s and didn't want any interruptions, even from his best friend. They usually had a great time studying together, making it as enjoyable as they possibly could. But lately Henry had taken on a very serious mindset towards his studies and had decided that he wanted to study alone from now on. So here she was, without her friend to study with and feeling quite downtrodden about it.

As they were in different houses, she and Henry weren't able to spend as much time together as she would like. They only had two classes together (Potions and Study of Ancient Ruins) and had to sit on different tables in the Great Hall at meal times. With most of the Hogsmeade trips being cast aside by Henry so that he could study, they only had a small amount of time to spend together. Now he had further shortened that time by cancelling their study sessions.

She sighed gloomily and walked absentmindedly down the hallway. She was just trying to remember when she and Henry had last had one of their heart-to-heart chats when a tall boy came around the corner and she crashed straight into him.

She fell to the floor, her books and notes scattering everywhere. Almost as suddenly as she had hit the ground, she was being pulled back up by her elbow. The boy helped her to stand and she looked up at his face.

"You okay?" he said quickly and she nodded, blushing. His hair was sandy gold in colour and his eyes were bright blue. He had a chiseled jaw and he was well-built. Aubrey couldn't help but think that he was extremely good looking.

"I'm late for Quidditch practice," he said, looking distracted, and started to move away from her.

She watched his back as he continued to walk down the corridor, stepping over her notes and books, and she smiled dreamily at him. He was very handsome…

* * *

"I know just the guy you're talking about," said Nell when Aubrey had described what he had looked like. "His name is Mitch Conwell and he is the Gryffindor Keeper from the fifth year. I can understand why you like him."

"Like him? I don't... I mean... I just bumped into him, that's all," said Aubrey, blushing scarlet.

"And it looks like the love for him got bumped right into you too," Nell commented, raising her eyebrows at Aubrey's stuttering. "It's a crush, nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should ask him out."

"Me?" Aubrey squeaked, sending the text book she was reading tumbling to the floor of the dormitory. "I couldn't possibly… he's in the fifth year."

"He's only a year older. I'm dating a Sixth Year," Nell pointed out, referring to her current Ravenclaw boyfriend. "Otherwise you could influence him to ask you out."

"How?" Aubrey asked, feeling slightly queasy.

"Just put yourself out there. Go up and talk to him, comment on his excellent flying skills, congratulate him the next time Gryffindor wins, flirt a little, that sort of thing," Nell listed, making it sound simple.

But Aubrey soon discovered it was not very simple for her. She tried to say 'Hi' to him one night when she walked past where he was sitting with his mates in the Great Hall. But as soon as she met his eyes she blushed and shuffled away quickly. Then the next time Gryffindor's Quidditch practice was held she went along to watch and tried to compliment him on a good save. But the most she could get out that time was "Nice um… save," before she skittered off in the opposite direction. As she was not usually a shy person, it was very unusual for her to suddenly become nervous at the thought of talking to him and she hated herself for blushing every time she saw him. Then during a game where Gryffindor was playing Hufflepuff, she waved at him enthusiastically from the stands and then had to hide her head in embarrassment when he raised his eyebrows questioningly at her.

After the game, which Gryffindor had won stupendously well, she went back to her dorm room so she could hide under her pillow for the rest of the night. Nell found her lying on her stomach with her pillow over her head and went over to comfort her.

"What you need it a confidence booster!" declared Nell.

"You're not going to suggest _Felix Felicis_ are you?" asked Aubrey from underneath her pillow.

"Nope!" said Nell and Aubrey sat up to face her friend. "A makeover!"

"A makeover?" repeated Aubrey, screwing up her nose.

"Nothing much, I promise you," said Nell, searching through her makeup bag. "Just a bit of eyeliner and mascara to highlight your eyes."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to make you look like a clown!" Nell continued, seeing the reluctance on Aubrey's face.

Sighing in defeat, Aubrey allowed Nell to work on her face.

Twenty minutes later and after a lot of squirming, Aubrey looked at her reflection. Her face still looked natural but her eyes now looked wider and brighter. Aubrey was stunned to find out that she liked the new look.

"Now, for your hair," said Nell, reaching for Aubrey's long auburn pony tail. But Aubrey had jumped from her seat and run to the other side of the room.

"Seriously, Aubrey! What do you think I'm going to do, shave your head?" Nell exclaimed. "Just pull out the pony tail."

Aubrey pulled the hairband out of her hair and let her auburn locks fall on to her shoulders. She went to push a strand behind her ear but Nell stopped her.

"No, leave it where it is. If some of your hair is over your face it will make you look mysterious," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Now you're good to go!"

She and Nell entered the Great Hall for dinner where the Gryffindor table was celebrating happily. They sat down towards the middle of the table and immediately began serving themselves plates of food. Aubrey had already noted that Mitch and his teammates were sitting on the opposite side of the table, about ten people down from them, and she tried not to look at him every second.

"Look confident," Nell whispered to her and they saw the Gryffindor Seeker approaching them. Nell took the first step.

"Great game, Roman!" she said to the Seeker, Benjamin Roman, who was in their year level.

"Thanks, Nell," he said smiling and sat down next to Aubrey. She liked Roman, they often talked in class and he always had the best jokes to tell. But with the look on his face now she could tell he was not in the joking mood.

"Aubrey," he said, addressing her. "If Mitch Conwell was to ask you out, would you say yes?"

His question caught her off guard. "I… er-"

"Why doesn't he come over and ask and see for himself?" interrupted Nell, prompting Roman to take her message to Mitch.

"What did you say that for?" Aubrey hissed as Roman walked back towards where the Gryffindor team was sitting.

"He can't send a messenger," said Nell. "That's cowardly."

"Too right!" proclaimed a voice and Aubrey almost choked on her juice when she saw Mitch Conwell sitting opposite her.

She immediately started to blush when she met his eyes.

"It's Aubrey isn't it, Aubrey Jones?" he asked and she nodded, not able to say a word.

"I saw you cheering the team on today at the game," he said and she felt herself get redder at the thought of her waving fit. "That was you who was waving at me, wasn't it?"

"Yes," she croaked softly, "That was me."

"Well I was wondering if you would like to go out with me?" he asked coolly. "We could go to Hogsmeade together next weekend."

Nell elbowed her in the stomach after a couple of seconds when she still hadn't given him an answer; she was still getting over the shock.

"Yes!" she yelped when Nell's elbow jabbed her painfully. "I mean, yes, I would really like that."

"Great!" he said, giving her a smile. "See you next weekend then," and he stood up and walked back to his teammates.

She watched him walk away and swooned. Henry met her eyes from across the hall and raised an eyebrow questioningly. But all she could do was smile.

* * *

The next weekend almost came too quickly for Aubrey as she felt quite unprepared to go on her first date. She had never dated before, let alone have a boyfriend before, and so she was at a complete loss about what she should expect.

But never the less she met Mitch at the town signpost in Hogsmeade after trying to make herself look as presentable as possible in her large cold weather jacket. Nell had done her makeup for her and then had walked with her into Hogsmeade where she would also meet her boyfriend in the Three Broomsticks. Her friend wished her luck and then entered the pub, leaving Aubrey to walk further into town by herself.

Mitch was sitting on the bench seat next to the sign post and stood when she approached. He handed her a Honeydukes bag and looking inside she found several sugar quills. She thanked him politely and then followed him as he led her down the street. She soon found herself standing out the front of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and Mitch held the door open for her. The waitress sat them at a corner booth and took their orders. Then she left them, making Aubrey feel very much alone.

Aubrey looked around the shop to see many other couples either holding hands, snogging or deep in conversation. She met Mitch's eyes, who smiled brightly at her, and she hoped that they would be starting off with the latter.

"So, you're a Muggle-born," he said and she nodded in confirmation. "That's got to make Muggle Studies an easy subject. I'm from a long line of wizards and witches so I have no idea what we are discussing in that class sometimes."

She smiled shyly, not knowing whether to add anything. She wasn't usually at a loss for words, or at all shy for that matter. But sitting here with her potential boyfriend she suddenly felt very self-conscious. But her awkwardness was covered up as the waitress had returned with their teas. She sipped hers, feeling the warmth spread to her numb fingers and toes.

"Have you ever played Quidditch?" Mitch asked her.

"No, not yet. But I enjoy flying," she said and, to her relief, hit a good topic as Mitch beamed at her.

"It's the best, isn't it? We should go flying together sometime. I could even teach you how to play Quidditch if you like."

She smiled and nodded eagerly. "I'd like that."

"Me too," he said softly and reached for her hand. His hands were large and incredibly warm while hers were small and, at the moment, as cold as ice. Her hand in his felt very nice and she relaxed, feeling comfortable.

"You know, you are very pretty," he murmured, meeting her dark brown eyes with his bright blue ones.

She started to blush again as he scooted closer and soon he was sitting right next to her. They had already progressed from conversation to hand holding and she could feel that he was going to go to the next step.

Sure enough he lent in and kissed her softly on the mouth. As it was her first kiss she didn't really know what to make of it at first, but she liked feeling the pressure of his lips on hers. After a while she started to kiss him back but they kept their kiss on the tender side.

Now that the ice was broken, they chatted freely about their families, friends, hobbies, subjects and Quidditch, which was Mitch's favourite subject. Aubrey discovered that she felt quite comfortable in Mitch's company and even held his hand as they walked down the street. They browsed the shop fronts together but only actually went into one, Spintwitches, where Mitch spent a lot of time looking at the new racing brooms and team merchandise. Mitch told her that the Quidditch team he followed was called the Montrose Magpies and bought her a banner and pin for her so as to, in his words, start her off with the right team.

"I want to play for a professional team one day," he told her. "I probably train longer and harder than anyone else in the Gryffindor team and I hope to become Captain next year."

Every now and then he would give her either a peck on the cheek or one on the lips. Strangely she didn't feel at all embarrassed by this and kept her hand securely in his. If she was ever allowed to flaunt her new boyfriend, today was the day she decided. However not everyone was impressed with her and Mitch's new relationship.

Walking past the bookshop she looked in the window and saw Henry, a book open in his hands, staring back her with a strange look on his face.

"I just need to go in here for one second," she said to Mitch and he agreed to stay outside.

She entered the shop and found Henry standing in the Ancient Ruins section. He looked strangely miffed to see her there.

"You didn't tell me that you were dating Conwell," he said frowning. "When did that happen?"

"Just today actually," she replied. "I was going to tell you the next time I saw you. He asked me out last week."

"Is that what he was doing talking to you after the game at dinner last week?"

"Yes," she said, smiling dreamily.

"You shouldn't dress up for him, you know," he said, commenting on her makeup and lack of ponytail. "You looked fine before."

"Maybe I want to look more than just 'fine'. And anyway, I like it," she said, defending her new look.

"Just… don't let him change you."

"Change me? He hasn't changed me."

Henry flicked the Montrose Magpies pin on her jacket in response.

"He's going to teach me about Quidditch and recommended to me that I follow a team," she said, now defending her pin.

Henry snorted with amusement and Aubrey could feel herself becoming annoyed.

"I'll see you later then," she said to him, just keeping her voice even, and she left the shop.

Mitch smiled when she returned and Aubrey felt a fluttering around her heart. She beamed back at him and took his outstretched hand again. Even if Henry wasn't happy with her new relationship, she sure was.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6 (YEAR 5) NOW AVAILABLE**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.**

**KC**


	6. Year 5

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

Aubrey ran into the Gryffindor change rooms at the Quidditch Stadium, bringing a large puddle of water in with her. The storm was horrendous and the rain was pelting down. How the Gryffindor team was going to play Quidditch in this, she had no idea. Frankly, she thought it was a bit mad but she knew she wouldn't be able to convince her boyfriend otherwise.

She used a drying charm to evaporate the water from her clothes and hair and looked around the room. The Gryffindor Quidditch team were already dressed in their scarlet and gold Quiddich uniforms and were discussing last minute logistics with their captain. Mitch loved being captain and spent most of his time planning and training for their games. He had a commanding yet supportive air whilst directing his team which Aubrey found very attractive. He noticed her standing near the door and smiled. He said a few more words to his team, leading them in a team cheer, before walking over to kiss her hello.

"I can't believe you are going to play in this weather," she said, pulling away from him at the sound of thunder. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Only if we get struck by lightning," Mitch said, grinning cheekily. "But I have the best team behind me and there is no way Slytherin is going to beat us today!"

The sound of the whistle calling the players out onto the grounds was blown and the roars of the dwindling crowd were heard shortly after. Not many had come out to watch the stormy game today as most had decided to watch from the comfort of the castle. Aubrey however had decided to brave the weather so as to add to the Gryffindor's support team in the stands; the Slytherin crowd was much larger than the Gryffindor one.

"Just be careful," she said to Mitch, giving him another peck on the lips.

"We'll be fine," he reinforced and ran off to lead his team out into the weather.

The Gryffindor Seeker, Benjamin Roman, who was a classmate of Aubrey's, gave her a nervous smile. He didn't look at all thrilled to be flying off into the thunder storm. His job was going to be especially hard today, trying to find the tiny gold snitch in the pouring rain, so she wished him luck.

Pulling on Mitch's spare rain jacket that he had left in the change rooms, Aubrey climbed up into the stands to join a small group of nearby Gryffindor supporters. Taking a seat she was surprised to see Henry sitting in the stand block down from her. She had hardly spoken to him all year, apart from in class, as he had pretty much buried himself under his books and notes. As Fifth Years they would be taking their O.W.L.s soon to apply to continue with their subjects next year when they would be studying at the N.E.W.T level. Henry had taken to his studies this year like a fish in water, probably due to all his practice in the previous year, while other students struggled and often broke down from stress and exhaustion. Aubrey too was feeling the strain but her time flying with Mitch often helped to release some of her stress.

Under his wing she had become an excellent flyer and he had even taught her the basics of Quidditch. But today she felt glad that she wasn't the one out their playing in this whether because she doubted she would be able to stay on a broom in this wind.

Madam Hooch entered the stadium to begin the game. She opened the Quidditch ball box, sending the bludgers and snitch flying off into the darkness, and threw the Quaffle into the air. Slytherin was the first to catch it and their Chaser zoomed towards the Gryffindor hoops. However Mitch was already there waiting for them and made a spectacular dive to prevent the Slytherin Chaser from scoring.

Aubrey cheered loudly every time Gryffindor scored and every time Mitch successfully stopped Slytherin from scoring. However the latter didn't occur as often as it usually did and Slytherin were in the lead after only twenty minutes.

Aubrey squinted in the murky grey sky for a sign of Roman chasing the snitch. They needed him to catch it pretty quickly to prevent Slytherin from taking the victory.

Suddenly a bright crack of lightning illuminated the sky and Aubrey saw Roman falling from the sky. His broomstick had been struck by the bolt, charring the end completely off, and he was falling quickly towards the ground. Aubrey shrieked as he fell, crashing into and taking down another two Gryffindor players and a Slytherin player in the process, and hit the ground. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the game to be paused, and ran out onto the field. Aubrey too quickly made her way out onto the field and approached the groaning pile of bodies on the ground.

The Slytherin player was clutching his ankle while the two Gryffindor's each held their wrists to their chests. However Roman was no moving at all as he had been knocked unconscious and Madam Hooch called for a stretcher to take him to the hospital wing.

By this stage Mitch had flown to the ground to survey the damage to his team. Aubrey saw him go pale and become very concerned.

Aubrey approached him to comfort him but he shook her off.

"With three players off the field and only two reserves, we are going to be a man down," he said to his team. Aubrey watched as they did the math and all their faces fell.

"There is no way we can win now," said one of the Beaters and the others murmured in agreement.

"Not if we bring Aubrey out to play," said Mitch, pointing at his girlfriend.

Aubrey and the rest of his teammates were completely stunned at his suggestion.

"She is a good flyer and if we put her on as our reserve Seeker, we can use the other two reserves as our replacement Chasers. They know the tactics already and Aubrey would be out of the way of the action chasing the snitch. It all works out." Mitch explained receiving apprehensive nods from his teammates.

"Well your captaincy for next year is riding on this decision, Conwell," said the Beater, "We need to win this game to go into the final. But if you think it'll work, then I guess we have no other option."

Mitch told Madam Hooch what they planned to do before pulling Aubrey, who was still dumbstruck at the idea of her playing, towards the change rooms. He gave her a spare uniform and retrieved her broomstick from out of storage. When Mitch had been made captain, his parents had gone out and bought him a brand new racing broom so Mitch had sold Aubrey his old one for a cheap price. It was still a very good broomstick and she could ride it comfortably. But she felt extremely nervous at the idea of riding it in this storm.

Walking back onto the field, Aubrey heard someone in the stands shout something loudly and turned around to see Henry making his way over to her and Mitch.

"What do you think you're doing making her play in this storm, Conwell?," he directed at Mitch angrily, "She doesn't even play and you're putting her out there for the first time in this weather. It's absurd!"

Henry had grown a lot over the past year, making him appear very intimidating at that very moment, and his silver eyes were piercing in his rage.

"She can play very well actually, Wilks," Mitch said, defending his decision, "and I have complete faith in her that she will do the team proud and catch us the snitch." Although this was meant to encourage her, Mitch's words made Aubrey feel almost sick with nerves.

"Now if you excuse us," Mitch continued, "we have a game to win," and then he directed Aubrey away from Henry and over to join the rest of the Gryffindor team.

Aubrey took off into the air when Madam Hooch recommenced the game and she wobbled slightly in the wind. It was unlike any type of weather she had ever flown in and she squinted around the field, trying to catch a glimpse of the tiny gold ball she was supposed to catch. Her hair whipped her face and she looked down at where Mitch was protecting the Gryffindor hoops. He was concentrating hard on the game and Aubrey felt queasy at the thought of letting him down. She not only needed to catch the snitch to win the game but also to ensure that he was named captain again next year.

As if thinking about the snitch made it appear, Aubrey suddenly saw it floating a few metres in front of her, struggling in the wind. She rocketed off towards it but it darted away at the last second. She swooped downwards to follow it and her movement must have caught the Slytherin Seeker's eye as he soon joined her in the chase. However in his desperation to catch up to Aubrey and the snitch, he overbalanced slightly and the wind carried him over the front of his broom and towards the ground. He bumped into Aubrey as he fell and she could feel herself losing control of her broom. The snitch was only inches in front of her and so she lashed out at it before hitting the ground below the Slytherins hoops.

She sat up quickly, not being badly hurt, and opened her fisted hand. Nestled into the palm of her hand was the snitch and she held it up triumphantly.

"Gryffindor Wins!" she heard the commentator shout and the Gryffindor team flew down to celebrate with her. Mitch flew down to her and in one bound scooped her up in his arms and spun her around, making her laugh out loud.

The Gryffindor team, still soaking wet and incredibly muddy, entered the Gryffindor common room to a huge roar of applause and the embraces of their friends. Nell jumped on Aubrey with a squeal of delight, bringing them both down to the floor. Aubrey laughed and beamed widely. From the time she had caught the snitch, a smile had not left her face.

The Gryffindor team started to head down to the Great Hall for dinner, still in their dirty uniforms, but Aubrey raced off towards the owlery, eager to send a letter to her parents about the game. She told Nell and Mitch where she was going and headed towards the tower where the owls lived whilst their owners were at Hogwarts.

She entered the tower and quickly wrote a short letter detailing the events of the game. Then sealing the envelope, she looked up at the rafters for her owl, Austen. But she couldn't spot his rusty coloured feathers or big green eyes on any of the owls currently there. She was just about to fasten the letter onto one of the Hogwarts owls when Austen came flying in the window with a large collection of letters.

She untied the letters from his foot and looked at the names they were addressed to. But they weren't for her; they were for her parents. She turned the letters over to see her own name on the back, marking her as the sender, and she realised that these were all the letters she had sent to parents this year. But why had they sent them back?

She then spotted another letter attached to Austen's other leg. Untying it from his leg, she saw that this one was addressed to her and she opened it immediately.

_Dear Miss Jones,_

_We regret to inform you that Darren and Caroline Jones no longer live at this address. We intercepted your letters in the Muggle Post and investigated as to why they were not being received by the people they were addressed to. We sent a Ministry official to your house and discovered from the new owners that the previous owners had not left them a forwarding address and had also not packed up one of the rooms in the house. We found your belongings in this room and have taken them to a storage facility at the Ministry. If you could please send us a new address then we will deliver your belongings to you there._

_We are sorry to bring you such unfortunate news and will continue to try and locate Mr and Mrs Jones at your request._

_Hope you are otherwise well and all the best for your upcoming O.W.L. examinations._

_The Wizarding Communications Department._

Aubrey felt her heart fall down to her stomach. Her parents were gone and they hadn't even told her why or said goodbye; They had abandoned her.

She could feel her throat closing up and she slid down the wall to slump on the floor. Burying her face in her hands, she began to sob like she never had before.

"Aubrey, there you are. Nell told me that you were – "

Aubrey didn't need to look up to see who it was as she could tell just from his voice. She felt Henry sit down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into a hug. She wailed into his chest, staining his jumper with her tears.

"My parents," she choked out, "they ha – have left and I don – don't know where they've gone."

She saw him pick up the letter from the Wizarding Communications Department and she sobbed harder into his chest.

"You can come live with me," he whispered and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"They le – left because I'm a witch," she cried. "They abandoned m - me because of the magic. They were scared and I didn't reassure them."

"Shhhhh," Henry soothed, "everything will be alright. It'll take some time but you'll see." Then he placed a tender and lingering kiss on her temple.

Even in her distraught state, the kiss caught her by surprise. He had been almost completely absent from her life for the past year. Why was he here? What was he inferring with that kiss? 'No, this isn't happening' she thought, 'No… no…'

"No," she said out loud, pushing herself away from him to stand up.

"'No' what?" Henry asked, looking very startled at her sudden change in emotion.

"That!" she exclaimed, putting her hand to her temple where he had kissed her. "What was that?"

"I was comforting you," said Henry, defending his actions.

"You were doing a fine job of it before you…" she couldn't even say it. "You can't just ignore me for almost a year and then come in and act like this!"

"But I – "

"No!" she interrupted angrily, "I thought you were my best friend but then you shut me out because you believed that studying was more important than my friendship. Now suddenly you walk in here and act all friendly again and even have the nerve to kiss me like that. I have a boyfriend!"

"I wasn't – "

"I can't just be your friend when it is convenient for you, Henry! You take and take yet never give anything towards this friendship and I'm sick of it! Arghh, your being such a…" but she stopped herself from saying it.

"Go on," glowered Henry as he stood up to face her. "Go on, say it."

"Like a Slytherin!" she shouted.

Even though he knew it was coming, hurt still showed on Henry's face. Aubrey suddenly wanted him desperately to retaliate, to say something mean about her so that she could feel the pain she had just given him. But he simply walked out of the owlery, leaving her to heave in anger.

She kicked the wall, sending several owls fluttering out the window, trying to continue to feel angry at Henry. But all she felt now was guilt.

* * *

**CHAPTER 7 (YEAR 6) NOW AVAILABLE!  
**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.**

**KC**


	7. Year 6

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

After finding out that her parents had disappeared, Aubrey had had to find herself a new place to live during the summer holidays. Even though Henry had offered to let her stay with him that night in the owlery, they still hadn't made up after their fight or even talked for that matter. So Nell and her family had very graciously invited her to stay with them for her last two summer holidays.

Nell lived a couple of hours out from the city of London in a large housing estate where all the houses looked the same. Aubrey desperately missed her little city townhouse but Nell's house was warm and welcoming.

Nell's parents pretty much become her adoptive parents and completely spoiled her. Nell's father was a wizard while her mother was a muggle. Mrs Green told Aubrey quite often how she wished she could also do magic. But she made up for her lack of magic through love and kindness and she made Aubrey feel very much at home in the Green household. Even though Nell had taken after her mother through looks, she shared her father's personality. Mr Green often encouraged the girls to be adventurous and he let Nell get away with almost anything, even laughing at her ridiculous pranks.

The Green family had also been kind enough to give Aubrey her own room, that is, after they relocated Nell's baby brother into the study. Aubrey had asked them not to worry about giving it to her but they insisted that she have the room. She had her belongings left in her old room delivered from the storage facility at the Ministry to the Green's address but had not unpacked any of it. She didn't want to be a burden on the Green family any longer than she needed to and had decided that as soon as she graduated from Hogwarts, she would find her own place to live. Therefore she only used the things she usually took to Hogwarts each year and kept it all in her trunk.

The Green's kept her occupied with things to do and see all holidays in what Aubrey believed was an attempt to distract her from the fact that her real parents were no longer around. However this fact stayed in the back of her mind all day every day and she questioned herself often about what she could have done to make them stay. But her large pile of homework was a comforting distraction from this and she worked steadily on it throughout the holiday period.

Even though her fight with Henry and the disappearance of her parents had greatly affected her work at the end of the last school year, she had still done fairly well in her O.W.L. examinations. She had achieved a high enough result in Transfiguration, Charms, Muggle Studies and Potions to be allowed to progress to the N.E.W.T level this year and was very happy with the result. But even though she had dropped all her other subjects, her work load had increased considerably and she knew a lot of time would be spent devoted to it over the next two years.

Most Sixth Years usually studied three or four subjects (Nell was studying three; Charms, Divination and Potions) but there were the exceptions who were studying more than that. Aubrey had heard that Henry had achieved 'Outstanding' O.W.L results for all nine of his subjects and it had taken Professor McGonagall a long time to finally convince him to drop four to get him down to five N.E.W.T level subjects. In the end he had chosen Charms, Potions, Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Ruins and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Aubrey could only imagine the work load he must have for those subjects and she didn't envy him in the slightest.

Aubrey still felt rotten about what had happened between them that night in the owlery. He had been so nice to comfort her when she was distraught and she had paid him back with insults. She had sunken to the level of all the other students at Hogwarts who stereotyped the Slytherin students as dark wizards and she knew she had deeply hurt Henry who was trying so hard to destroy the stereotype. She had written him many letters, telling him how sorry she was, but had been unable to send any of them. Nell, who Aubrey had told all about the fight, thought Aubrey was being ridiculous and that she should send every one of them. But Aubrey couldn't help but feel that her apology should be delivered in person.

However when she saw him at the station on the first of September, boarding the train to Hogwarts to begin their sixth year at Hogwarts, nervousness overcame her and she avoided him. What if he wouldn't forgive her? What if he no longer wanted to be friends with her?

She boarded the train, waving goodbye to Mr and Mrs Green, and found the compartment that Mitch was sitting in with some of his Quidditch teammates. As she entered the compartment she picked up that the conversation he was having was about his selection for a professional Quidditch team. Aubrey had already heard the story several times from Mitch over the summer but she sat down next to him nether the less.

By winning the game against Slytherin last year, Aubrey had placed Gryffindor into the game against Ravenclaw for the Qudditch Cup. Gryffindor won spectacularly with Mitch not allowing Ravenclaw to score once. Little did he know that scouts from the Chudley Cannons, Montrose Magpies and Puddlemere United were in the stands watching and each of them approached Mitch after the game to ask him to come their tryout sessions. So over the holidays Mitch had gone to the tryouts and afterwards received invitations from each of the teams asking him to join them as one of their players.

"It's a tough decision," Mitch was saying to his friends when Aubrey walked in. "I mean, the Montrose Magpies is the team I have followed ever since I was little and it would be amazing to play with them. But Puddlemere United have been on the top of the leader board for five years in a row now and the Chudley Cannons have the best looking uniforms."

"I'm just flattered that so many teams want me," he continued smugly and then turned to Aubrey. "So how does it feel to be dating the next best Quidditch player in the league?" he asked her, beaming smugly.

"Fantastic," she said plainly. But Mitch didn't seem to have noticed her lack of enthusiasm because he had launched into a retell about an 'awesome' save he did at the Puddlemere United tryout.

She zoned out and stared out the window; she was getting rather bored of hearing about Quidditch.

* * *

It was only two weeks into the new school year and Aubrey was already overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to do. She collapsed on her bed in exhaustion after a particularly draining Charms class. The professors really weren't kidding when they said the N.E.W.T. level subjects were a lot of work.

She was just closing her eyes to have a quick nap before dinner when a very upset Nell came running into the dormitory. The door slammed against the wall as she came through it, making Aubrey jump off the bed in fright, and Nell collapsed on her bed with tears streaming down her face.

Aubrey immediately went over to comfort her yet allowed Nell time to explain to her what was wrong.

"He broke up with me!" Nell wailed, throwing the scrunched up letter towards Aubrey, allowing her to read it.

Sure enough it was from Nell's Ravenclaw boyfriend who had graduated from Hogwarts at the end of the last school year. In the letter he said that he had met a witch at the Ministry, where he now worked, and that he wanted to date her instead of someone who was two years younger than himself. Aubrey suddenly felt very angry; if he had found someone else and wanted to move on that was all very well, but breaking up with Nell via owl was just disgusting and juvenile. She wanted to tell Nell that she would be better off without him but in her friend's current state, she decided to just comfort her instead.

Once Nell had finished having a good cry, Aubrey helped her tidy herself up a bit and then walked down to dinner with her. They sat next to the Gryffindor Quidditch team in the Great Hall and Nell tried to hide her blotchy face from them. But Roman, the team's Seeker, noticed that she had been crying and scooted down the table to sit next to her. He soon had her laughing though as his jokes had become even worse over the holidays.

Aubrey relaxed a little, seeing that her friend's mood was brightening, and turned to join in Mitch's conversation with his team. Not to her surprise though, he was again talking about his tryout with the Chudley Cannons and so instead she turned her attention to the food on her plate.

"And you should have seen me," Mitch boasted, "I lunged in front of the hoop and smacked the Quaffle out of the way. Even their usual Keeper wasn't able to do it!"

He stopped to take a breath before continuing. "But I think I've finally decided on the team I will join. Even though it's been my dream to play for the Montrose Magpies for most of my life I think I'm going to choose Puddlemere United. They have the best training facilities and regimes and I can get all my friends and family free tickets to my games. Aubrey is going to lead my fan club," he said and squeezed her waist.

"I will not!" she said jumping up from her seat; the last straw has finally broken. "I'm sorry, Mitch, but I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of only hearing you talk about Quidditch and boasting about your prosperous career. I am happy for you that your dream has come true but I am not going to hang around to only be your fan club leader and biggest supporter. I want to have my own life too. So I don't think we should date each other anymore."

The team, Nell and Mitch all looked completely stunned at her sudden outburst. But even after she allowed him time to recover, Mitch said nothing to her in response. So taking that as an agreement to her words, she walked briskly out of the Great Hall.

As she turned the corner out into the corridor, Aubrey spotted Henry walking towards her. Her face must have still been slightly flushed with anger as he immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Aubrey, are you alright?" he asked, concerned. It was the first thing he had said to her since their fight last year and she noted that his voice had become considerably deeper. His hair too had also darkened slightly but his eyes were still the same bright silver.

"I'm fine," she said, sighing. "I just broke up with Mitch."

"You did?" he said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, we have become different people since we first started dating each other and we don't really fit anymore. We both have different goals for the future..." she said, letting her voice trail off at the end. "But where have you come from?" she asked, changing the subject.

"The Headmistress's office," he replied. "Today was the first meeting of the new school prefects. I've been made the school prefect for Slytherin house."

"That's wonderful, Henry!" she exclaimed, smiling at him.

"Thanks," he said humbly, "Professor Slughorn recommended me for the position to Professor McGonagall and you can bet she was pretty pleased about it."

"Well, you deserve it," she said, causing a silence to follow shortly after.

"Please let me apologise for how I have treated you over the last couple of years," Henry started, "I can see now that I was ignoring you and that wasn't fair. You had been such a great and supportive friend and I pushed you aside thinking that my studies were more important. I forgot what Professor McGonagall told me back in our second year, about friendship being the greatest gift, and I am ashamed of myself that I allowed myself to forget that."

"If anyone should be apologising it should be me, Henry," she said, "I was the one who said such awful things to you and using the Slytherin stereotype as an insult was way out of line. You were only trying to comfort me and I treated you so badly. I'm sorry."

"I wrote so many letters to you over the holidays but I wasn't able to send any of them," he sighed. "I kept thinking that you no longer wanted to be friends with me."

"I did the exact same thing!" she said, smiling, which caused him to smile back.

"So, all is forgiven?" she asked him.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "I've missed my best friend."

"Then let's never fight again," she beamed. "Now, you're just the person I've wanted to see because you are going to help me with my Potions homework, whether you like it or not!"

He laughed. "After you then," he said, bowing jokingly and waving his hand in the direction of the library. Aubrey smiled; she was so glad to have her confidant and friend back.

They turned to head down the hallway but paused when they saw Mitch strutting out of the Great Hall, followed by a giggling group of girls. He didn't look to have been affected at all by their breakup and was now lapping up the attention of his new admirers and most likely, eager potential girlfriends.

"News sure does travel fast," Aubrey muttered, frowning as the girls flirted shamelessly with the now single and soon to be 'famous' Quidditch player.

"Yeah but just think, as soon as he trains up all those girls to play Quidditch, he will have an entire team!" he whispered cheekily. "With you as Seeker of course," he added and Aubrey punched him in the shoulder.

However they laughed together, receiving questioning looks from Mitch, and walked down the corridor towards the library.

* * *

**CHAPTER 8 (YEAR 7) NOW AVAILABLE**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.**

**KC**


	8. Year 7

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

Aubrey lifted her head from her Charms revision to look across the library. But she forced her eyes back down to look at her page, scolding herself for being so distracted. Her N.E.W.T examinations were in two weeks and she, like many of the Seventh Years, was doing last minute revision.

But Aubrey couldn't for the life of her concentrate on anything else but than what was occurring on the furthest table across the room. Henry, who had been made Head Boy this year, was sitting with Leanne Doxley, the Head Girl from Ravenclaw house, writing their final Student Report for the year before they did their examinations and graduated. Well, Henry at least was writing the report; Leanne on the other hand was twirling her long blond hair through her fingers and flirty shamelessly with him while he worked. Every now and then Henry would smile at something Leanne said and she would giggle in response. It was making Aubrey feel sick.

Professor McGonagall had asked the other professors to choose the Head Boy and Girl this year from the collection of house prefects from the previous school year. To the Headmistress's delight, Henry was chosen as the Head Boy and Aubrey admired the Headmistress on her selection method as it removed the chance for her to be biased. Leanne Doxley was also a very good student and leader and Aubrey could understand why she was chosen as Head Girl. But Aubrey didn't like her at all; mainly because she flirted with Henry any chance she got.

Aubrey frowned as she watched Leanne flatten Henry's hair lovingly. But Henry continued to work on his parchment, either unaware or purposefully ignoring Leanne's hints. 'Why can't she just leave him alone' Aubrey thought angrily. She didn't know why it was affecting her so much now, I mean, she had watched Leanne flirt with him pretty much all year. But she suddenly felt very protective over him. Of course she wanted her best friend to be happy but she didn't think Leanne was the right person for him.

'Then who is the right person?' a small voice in her head asked her. An answer came to mind but she shook it away; thinking it absurd. But it reappeared again and she looked over at him. They had been best friends for almost seven years, not including their rough patch between their fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts; could she really think of him as anything other than her best friend?

She had to admit, he had grown into a very tall and handsome young man and he really did have the best soul. He had even broken his ties to his family of Death Eaters over the last summer holidays and had told Aubrey that he would be happy never to speak to them again. Even the students at Hogwarts now treated him with respect and many of the younger students admired him as their Head Boy. The fact that he was in Slytherin house pretty much didn't affect anyone anymore in how they perceived him and Aubrey was extremely proud of him for his persistence over the years. Never once had he lost sight of Professor McGonagall's goal and he was blazing towards a glorious end to his life at Hogwarts.

She smiled when she saw his face crease into a look of concentration, a look that she now had to admit looked very attractive on him. 'But what was she doing?' she asked herself, shaking her head. Was she really forming a crush on her best friend? Or was it more than that?

Suddenly, as if he could sense she was staring at him, Henry met Aubrey's eyes from across the room. He smiled at her before he lowered his eyes back to his report.

'Yep' she realised; she would never be able to look at him the same again.

* * *

The Seventh Years were deadly quiet in the Great Hall. It had been two weeks since they had all finished their examinations and today, their last full day at Hogwarts, would be the day that their letters holding their N.E.W.T. results would arrive by owl.

Aubrey looked around at her classmates. None of them had touched their breakfasts and all wore nervous, pale looks on their faces. Aubrey too was feeling very nervous. She felt she had done well in her examinations but it was the results on that small piece of parchment that would determine what she did next year. The waiting was killing her.

Then all at once a great parliament of owls swooped into the Great Hall and each owl deposited an envelope into one of the Seventh Years' laps. Aubrey opened hers immediately, not wanting to delay at all, and sighed with relief. She had passed her N.E.W.T. levels for Charms, Muggle Studies and Transfiguration and had only just missed out in Potions. Three out of four wasn't bad and she very pleased with the result. She looked up at Nell with a big smile and found that she was beaming back at her. Nell had passed Charms and Potions but had completely flunked Divination.

"I don't mind though," said Nell, "It's a bit of a nonsense subject anyway."

Aubrey heard excited chattering coming from the Slytherin table and looked over to see a large group of the younger Slytherin students crowded around Henry. She stuck three fingers in the air to signal to him that she had passed three subjects and he returned the signal by sticking up five fingers. Five subjects! That means he had achieved a N.E.W.T. pass for all of his subjects. She beamed at him in congratulation.

She turned back around to find Roman, who had been made Quidditch captain after Mitch had graduated last year, sitting next to Nell and they were showing each other their results. Nell and Benjamin Roman had become very good friends over the last year but Aubrey suspected there was more going on that they hadn't shared with each other.

The three of them chatted excitedly while they walked back to the Gryffindor common room. However their main topic of conversation was about the Graduation Party for all Seventh Years that would occur in the Room for Requirement that night. They planned to meet in the common room after dinner so that they could go down together and then Nell and Aubrey headed up to their dormitory to pack their belongings for the last time.

The last day of the year was always left as a free day for the students so that they could pack up their dormitories and just have a relaxing day before the feast at night. But for the Seventh Years, today was the last day they would spend with their friends at Hogwarts and Aubrey felt sad that it was all ending so quickly.

As she was packing her possessions into her trunk, Aubrey came across a photograph of herself and Henry that had been taken at the start of the year. She sat down on her bed and smiled sweetly at it.

"You really like him, don't you?" said Nell coming over to stand next to Aubrey.

"Of course! He's my best friend," Aubrey replied, not taking her eyes off the photograph.

"No, in the other way. You have feelings for him, I can tell," said Nell gently.

"It's feels so different than what I experienced with Mitch," Aubrey pondered out loud. "When I was with Mitch, my heart would flutter. But with Henry… it's like my heart aches for him. I think somewhere deep inside I've always known I loved him more than a friend."

"You should tell him," Nell said softly.

"But how?" sighed Aubrey, "What if he only wants to be friends?"

"He may or he may not," Nell replied, sitting next to her. "But he may meet someone else once he leaves Hogwarts and wouldn't you then regret not telling him now?"

* * *

The party in the Room for Requirement after the feast was bustling with people and Aubrey, Roman and Nell eagerly joined the crowd.

All the Seventh Year's had dressed themselves up in their nicest dress robes for the occasion and both the young men and women looked stunning. Nell had brought out her favourite green mini dress for the party while Aubrey was wearing a backless, deep ruby red dress with her hair cascading down her back.

Roman volunteered to get them drinks and returned with three glasses of firewhiskey. Aubrey began to decline her glass when Roman offered it to her but catching a glimpse of Leanne giggling in front of Henry, she grabbed the glass and took a big gulp. It burned down her throat, like the name suggested, but it felt good to settle her nerves.

"Fancy Henry Wilks passing all five of his N.E.W.T. subjects," said Roman, catching her looking over at him. "He's got a big future ahead of him!"

She nodded in agreement and Roman asked her what she planned to do now that she had passed three of her subjects.

"I think I'd like to work for the Ministry in the Muggle-born Preparation Department," she said. "I think it would be a very rewarding job, helping new students find their way in the wizarding world and all that. The MPD official who helped me completely changed my life, for the better that is, and I would love to do the same for other young witches and wizards."

Nell shared that she wanted to go into the production business, creating new products for the Zonko's and Weasley's shops, and Roman said that he was interested in working at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Aubrey tried to listen intently to her friends but her attention kept wandering over to where Henry was standing with a group of Ravenclaws, including Leanne Doxley.

When their glasses were empty, Aubrey volunteered to get the next lot of drinks and went over to the bar. However when she returned, Nell and Roman were nowhere to be seen. She wandered around the room, still carrying the drinks with her, and finally found them in the back corner of the room engaged in a passionate snog. She slipped away as quietly as she could and smiled to herself. 'It is about time' she thought, feeling happy that her friends had found each other. She caught herself looking over at Henry again and decided to take a leaf out of Nell's book. 'It was now or never' she thought.

She walked over to the group he was standing with and offered the drinks she was still carrying to Leanne and her friends. Then she turned to Henry.

"Can I speak to you outside?" she asked, out of earshot of Leanne and the other Ravenclaws.

"Of course," he replied and followed her out the door.

Once they were out in the abandoned corridor she turned around to face him. He looked incredibly charming in his black dress robes and sliver tie, which made his eyes look particularly bright. She took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself, but the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"I need to tell you that I am so happy we are friends and I can't imagine Hogwarts without you, because that would be really sad and I don't want to be sad tonight because it is our last night. But anyway I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though we are friends I have discovered that I really like you, not just as a friend but as… and I don't know if you feel the same way but I've often questioned your motives for kissing me in the owlery that time but –"

He suddenly prevented her from rambling any further by capturing her lips with his. The kiss startled her and she hardly registered that it was actually occurring before he pulled back.

He smiled sweetly at her, "I do. I do feel the same way."

Her heart flew as she leapt into his arms, pressing her lips to his. He returned the kiss instantly and this time she explored him; how he felt, how he tasted, how they became one. Granting his tongue entry into her mouth their kiss grew more passionate. He pushed her back into the stone wall, pressing his body up against hers. She stood on her toes so she could wrap her arms around his neck and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. He moaned softly into her mouth and he placed his hands on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him still. The touch of his hands on her bare skin sent shivers up her spine and she nibbled his lower lip in return.

She had kissed before but never had she experienced a kiss this sensual. Henry's kiss far outweighed any of Mitch's... Henry? Henry! She was snogging her best friend! This realisation brought her mind back to the present and she eased herself away from him gently. Looking up into his eyes she found that they were full of lust and she blushed, smiling awkwardly.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that," he sighed happily.

"Oh?" she encouraged him.

"Ever since I saw you snogging that jerk Conwell back in the fourth year. As your best friend I knew I shouldn't have minded that you started dating but seeing you with other guys made me realise… well, that I did mind."

She smiled. "Just the way I started to mind when I saw Leanne flirting with you."

"Leanne Doxley?" he asked, surprised. "I didn't even realise."

"You're so short sighted sometimes, Wilks," she teased, pushing his shoulder playfully which allowed her to leave the confinement that his body had made for her against the wall.

He grabbed her hand before she could move further away from him and brushed a loose strand of her hair away from her eyes.

"Do you want to head back to the party now?" he asked softly.

"Yes" she said smiling and entwined her hand in his, never wanting to let go.

* * *

The graduation ceremony commenced the next morning and the excitement of becoming graduates was enough to distract many from their acing heads. The entire school had gathered in the Great Hall and watched as the Seventh Years made their way to the front of the hall, the same way they had done their first day at Hogwarts for their sorting ceremony. Professor McGonagall watched proudly from behind the Great Hall podium as the Seventh Years gathered in front of her. She quietened them with a few taps of her wand and begun her congratulation speech.

Aubrey looked around at her classmates while she listened to the Headmistress talk about their accomplishments whilst at Hogwarts. Aubrey couldn't help but think about how they had all grown so much, not just in height, but in maturity too. They were all their own people now and she felt glad that she could have been witness to the journeys that they had all taken to make it to where they stood today. Her eyes finally rested on Henry, standing near the front of the Slytherin group and he winked cheekily at her. She could feel Nell's hand wrapped tightly in hers as she had grasped it to keep her friend from bouncing throughout the ceremony. Aubrey's heart swelled as she thought of her two best friends and thanked her lucky stars that they had found each other.

Aubrey could feel the anticipation building in the air as, one by one, each student was called to receive their Hogwarts Graduation Certificate. Nell bounded to the front when her name was called and her smile stretched from ear to ear as she accepted her certificate. Aubrey wasn't too far behind her friend and accepted her certificate from the Headmistress with a strong handshake and a warm smile. Turning around to make her way back into the group of Seventh Years, she was able to get a quick glance at the hundreds of students sitting in the Great Hall, watching in admiration. She had once been in their place, watching the older students leave, and now that she was the one standing on the precipice of her future beyond Hogwarts, she couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Henry was the last student to be called up, due to having Wilks as a surname, but Professor McGonagall also had a surprise in store.

"Now our last student," she spoke loudly, "has dedicated many hours of his time at Hogwarts towards his studies and towards his school. He was a prefect in his sixth year, head boy in his seventh and maintained the highest grades amongst all in his year level in all his subjects since his second year. He will leave Hogwarts with five 'Outstanding' N.E.W.T scores for his five subjects and I think I can safely say that we will see great things from him in the future. Hogwarts has been very lucky to have him as a student and," she raised her voice just slightly, "from a Slytherin no less. I encourage all students to look to his example as a finer student and gentlemen you will not find. I thereby call upon our valedictorian, Henry Wilks!"

The Great Hall erupted in applause and students from all houses rose from their seats to cheer. Henry made his way to the front looking surprised at the huge applause he was receiving yet very proud. He took Professor McGonagall's hand and shook it firmly. The Headmistress was beaming and Aubrey saw her mouth form the words 'Thank-you' as she handed him his certificate. Nell whistled through her fingers loudly and Aubrey joined her as they clapped and cheered as loud as they possibly could.

No sooner than Henry had joined the group again, receiving many hearty slaps on the back from his fellow students, the seventh years threw their pointed hats above their heads, signalling the end of the graduation ceremony and their time at Hogwarts.

* * *

**THE FINAL CHAPTER (LEAVING HOGWARTS) IS NOW AVAILABLE**

**As a first-time FanFiction writer, I would love a review or feedback from you on my writing. Just like Aubrey I am very excited to be setting out on a new journey and I can't wait to share more of my ideas with you.**

**KC**


	9. Leaving Hogwarts

**Disclaimer – The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC**

* * *

It was only a matter of hours after the graduation ceremony that the Seventh Years' trunks were loaded onto the train and many, yet not all, participated in heartfelt goodbyes with their Professors who had accompanied them to the station. Then boarding the train they waved out the window until the station was out of sight.

Aubrey kept her eyes on her beloved Hogwarts right until it too went out of sight. She felt her chest become uncomfortably heavy. Hogwarts had been her home for seven years and she wasn't sure she could let go of it just yet. Never again would she have lessons in the old classrooms or chase her friends down the long and winding corridors. She would never have another meal in the Great Hall or have a competitive snow ball fight with the others in her year level on the expansive grounds. Almost about to cry, she said a silent goodbye to the castle as it went out of view and followed Nell and Henry into an available compartment.

Henry sat down next to the window and immediately started to read the newspaper he had collected at the station.

"I can't believe we are actually leaving," sighed Nell, who wore a faraway expression.

Aubrey nodded in agreement. "Seven years went by too quickly. Things have changed so much…"

Over just those seven years, her life had completely transformed. She could still remember greeting Mr Splint at her door as a plain and ordinary girl. Yet with the help of her friends that she had made along the way, she had joined the wizarding world and had blossomed into the young woman and witch she was today. She had lost and she had found, felt pain and felt happiness. But overall Hogwarts had given her the most memorable and altering years of her life so far and they would stay fondly in her memory forever.

Her thoughts drifted back to the present and found herself gazing at Henry. 'What will the future bring?' she thought.

Nell caught her eye, giving her a questioning look and gestured towards the door, asking silently whether she should leave. The two girls had of course told each other everything from the previous night's events and so Nell understood Aubrey's wishes. Aubrey gave her a small smile and curt nod, thankful that her friend could read her thoughts.

"Well, I'm off to find Roman!" Nell announced loudly, watching for a reaction from Henry. "You know, my new boyfriend," she beamed, "So I'll see you guys later," and she bounded out of the compartment.

Watching the door rattle shut after her friend, Aubrey noted the number of the compartment they were currently sitting in. Little did she realise when they had first sat down that this was the same compartment that she and Henry had rode in their first year. Smiling at the irony she looked over at her - friend? Boyfriend? What was he to her now? She pondered this question. True, best friends don't make out but they hadn't really discussed if they were now more than that now after their late night snog. Even now she couldn't ask him about it as he was concentrating intently on something he was reading in the paper. She decided to give him time to finish his article before she brought it up; at least she would have some time to think about how she was going to phrase such a question.

But Henry hardly lifted his head the entire way back to London and Aubrey could feel her chances of talking to him alone were slipping away. Leaning forward slightly to see what he was reading, she saw the title at the top of the page advertising job positions. Her heart became heavy. He had the perfect opportunity with Nell currently absent from the compartment to talk to her about anything and everything - hell, even kiss her senseless! Yet he decided that waiting another day to start searching for a job was not an option, that he had to use his last ride home from Hogwarts with her to do just this. Did he even remember their moment last night when he kissed her against the castle's walls? Or was it the firewhiskey that he had consumed that had made him act in such a way? Did he even care about her the way she cared about him?

Aubrey felt almost glad when Platform 9 and ¾ came into view as she didn't think she could contain her disappointment much longer, knowing that it would surely come out in the form of tears. Mumbling something about getting her trunk she leapt from her seat and onto the station when the train came to a stop. She was thankful when she reached the storage carriage that her owl and trunk were easy to retrieve and loaded a nearby trolley with her belongings. Not thinking as to whether she should say goodbye to her friends, no matter how much pain one of them was causing her, she started to walk briskly towards the barrier back to the Muggle platforms 9 and 10. She could feel her eyes becoming watery just as a hand grabbed her wrist.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

She wouldn't have needed to turn around to see who it was but she whirled around just the same.

Henry smirked at her, his eyes twinkling, waiting for an answer.

She choked back a wave a tears to curtly reply "Home."

"Home? If I'm not mistaken, I thought you no longer had one," he said

She snatched back her hand, feeling anger boil up inside her, and turned her back to him before she did something brash.

"Aubrey! No, wait, I'm sorry! That came out wrong. Please stop!"

She slowed and spun around again to punch him, a little too feebly, in the shoulder. He hardly reacted to the contact and grabbed her wrist again in desperation to keep her attention.

"I only meant that you can't go anywhere until we have found a home."

"We?" she squeaked, sniffing.

"Have you forgotten that I separated myself from my parents last summer? I had no intention of returning to their house once I graduated so I am without a home too. That's what I was doing, you see, on the train reading the paper; I was looking for a house."

Suddenly he frowned and disappointment showed blatantly on his face. "I just thought now that we are - um, that we would live - er… but if this is not what I think this is then -"

"No!" she jumped, suddenly catching on. "I want to! I mean I do, yes I want to live with you and be with you," she gushed and she saw relief flood his face. "You didn't talk to me at all on the train and I thought -"

His eyes widened in realisation. "You thought I was ignoring you! That I didn't care! Oh I see it now - I'm sorry. I just got so focused-"

"I know" she said, smiling, "You got that little crease on your forehead like you did when you were studying." She reached up to point out to him where on his forehead the crease was. She let her hand linger there and then brought it down the side of his face, gazing into his silver eyes.

"I'm sorry that I made you question us. I should have shared it with you," he said softly.

"As long as there is an 'us'," she replied.

"Yes," he smiled lovingly, "there is an 'us'. It's only ever been you Aubrey. It will only ever be you."

And then he kissed her and it was soft, tender and full of love. There was none of the overwhelming passion in it that engulfed them the night before but it made her feel just as warm; her heart was full.

After waiting for Henry to retrieve his trunk, Aubrey took his hand in hers. Then together they walked through the barrier and towards their future.

* * *

**Thank-you to all of you who have read my story from start to finish and a huge shout out to all those who have followed my story as it was published chapter by chapter. And to those who have sent me feedback and reviews, thank-you so much for your comments of encouragement and support; you guys have inspired me to continue to improve my writing. I promise you all that more stories will be published soon (some are already available) so please check them out!**

**All the best and hopefully I will see you again soon!**

**KC**


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